Unity and the Goblet of Fire
by Lady Sabine of Macayhill
Summary: Fourth in Unity series. The Triwizard Tournament, renamed the Quartet Quest since Japan is also participating, is held at Hogwarts. James unexpectedly also has to take part, and Unity seeks to find out about Riddle's plot against them. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer for entire fic: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does and I am merely playing in her world.

James lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face. The old scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning, was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin. He sat up, one hand still on his scar, the other hand reaching out in the darkness for his glasses, which were on the bedside table. He put them on and his bedroom came into clearer focus, lit by a faint, misty orange light that was filtering through the curtains from the street lamp outside the window.

James ran his fingers over the scar again. It was still painful. He turned on the lamp beside him, scrambled out of bed, crossed the room, opened his wardrobe, and peered into the mirror on the inside of the door. A skinny boy of fourteen looked back at him, his bright green eyes puzzled under his untidy black hair. He examined the lightning-bolt scar of his reflection more closely. It looked normal, but it was still stinging.

James tried to recall what he had been dreaming about before he had awoken. It had seemed so real… There had been two people he knew and one he didn't… He concentrated hard, frowning, trying to remember… The dim picture of a darkened room came to him… There had been a snake on a hearth rug… a small man called Peter, nicknamed Wormtail… and a cold, high voice… the voice of Tom Riddle. James felt as though an ice cube had slipped down into his stomach at the very thought…

He closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember what Voldemort had looked like, but it was impossible… All James knew was that at the moment when Voldemort's chair had swung around, and he, James, had seen what was sitting in it, he had felt a spasm of horror, which had awoken him… or had that been the pain in his scar?

And who had the old man been? For there had definitely been an old man; James had watched him fall to the ground. It was all becoming confused. He put his face into his hands, blocking out his bedroom, trying to hold on to the picture of that dimly lit room, but it was like trying to keep water in his cupped hands; the details were now trickling away as fast as he tried to hold on to them… Voldemort and Wormtail had been talking about someone they had killed, though James could not remember the name… and they had been plotting to kill someone else… him. Well, not just him. Kyle and Mari had been included, since they had been with him when facing Quirrell/Voldemort over the Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort had also asked Wormtail about Harry Potter, but when he was informed that the Boy-Who-Lived was still missing, Voldemort had decided to just settle for James at the moment.

James sighed, since he really was Harry Potter, but had not told the wizarding world at large. The only people who knew was the members of Unity, his adoptive siblings Stuart and Stella, Sirius, Remus, Dobby, Professor Snape, and the Weasley twins. Oh yeah, and there was the Japanese Minister of Magic and her closest and most trusted advisor. He sighed again, wondering how Voldemort would react if he found out that James Lydell and Harry Potter where one and the same.

James looked out the window, then decided that he had to tell someone about the dream. However, he really didn't want to tell anyone except his best friends for the time being. Eventually he would tell the rest of Unity, but that could wait until school started. He didn't want to put a damper on their enjoyment of the Quidditch World Cup, which would take place in about a week. He also decided to wait until after the end of the Cup to tell Sirius and Remus. He decided against telling his siblings, since it would just worry them and they'd become over-protective of him.

With that decided, James pulled on a sweater over his pajamas and then went to the room next door to wake up Kyle, who was staying over and would be going with him to the Cup. On the way out, James grabbed the three-way mirror Remus had given the trio for Christmas last year, so that they could talk to each other during the holidays. Mari wouldn't like being waken up at two in the morning, but she'd forgive James when she found out about the dream.

Kyle sat up in his bed, yawning, after he'd been shaken awake. He looked sleepily at his watch, then said, "It's two thirty in the morning, James. Why are you waking me up?"

"Because I had a dream," answered James. "And not the usual kind that I get. It had Moldyshorts and Wormtail in it, and an old guy that was eavesdropping and they killed."

Kyle was instantly awake. He stared at his friend, shocked. "Are you serious? And why are you telling me and not Sirius about the dream?"

"Because you're my best friend and I always tell you things. And I don't want to tell Sirius about it until after the World Cup. I don't want him being worried right now. Now, I'm going to call Mari so I can tell the two of you the details at the same time." James looked down at the mirror in his hand and said clearly, "Mariko Kishi."

There was a small flash of light and a buzzing noise. After a couple of minutes, the face of Mari appeared in the mirror. She looked distinctly annoyed. "James Evan Lydell-Black, you better have a very good reason for waking me up at two thirty in the morning. Or are you responsible for this, Kyle Benjamin Melling-Carter?"

"I had a strange dream about Riddle and Wormtail," replied James. "They were plotting something. There was also an old guy that was listening in on them and then Riddle killed him. When I woke up, my scar was hurting, and it hasn't hurt since first year, when Moldyshorts was possessing Quirrell."

The annoyed look disappeared from Mari's face. "Tell us everything you can remember about the dream, James," she ordered.

James did so, a look of frustration on his face as many of the details had slipped away from his memory once he'd woken up. All he could tell his best friends was that Wormtail and Riddle were discussing someone they had killed, that Harry Potter had still not been found, and some sort of plot to kill James and possibly his best friends since Potter wasn't in the picture. There had also been a giant snake, who had told Riddle about the old man eavesdropping on the conversation, and then the death of the man.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Kyle, a look of horror on his face. "Is our fourth year going to turn out being eventful too, with attempts on our life?"

"You know perfectly well that it already was going to be eventful, Kyle," scolded Mari. "I told you about the Triwizard Tournament being reinstated, only it's being called the Quartet Quest since the Tokyo School of Magic was asked to take part in it with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to further Britain's relationship with Japan."

"But now instead of just being excited about the Quartet Quest, we also have to worry about a plot against us," said James. "Well, it's mainly against me, but since you guys are my best friends and stood with me when facing Riddle over the Philosopher's Stone, you're also targets, just lesser ones."

"Well, go write down every detail of the dream you remember in your commonplace book and I'll Floo over tomorrow morning to further talk with you and Kyle about it. Or rather, later today, since technically it's already morning. I suppose you want to wait until after school starts to tell the rest of Unity about the dream?"

"Yeah," said James.

"All right, then Kyle and I won't say a word about it to anyone else until after you've done so," said Mari briskly. "And you might want to consider if your scar might have some sort of connection to Riddle, which would explain it hurting and the dream, which most likely is more of a vision of real-life events."

"I was wondering the same thing," said Kyle. "Riddle apparently already accidentally passed on some of his powers, like Parseltongue, to James when he attempted to kill him."

James made a face. "Great, I have a connection with the most evil person in living memory through my scar. Did Fate decide that I didn't have an unpleasant enough childhood and so see to it that I discover bad things in my life now?"

"Well, you would still find out these things even if your relatives had kept you and didn't leave you at Sunnybrook Orphanage," pointed out Kyle. "In that case, everyone would know who you really are, Mari and I probably wouldn't be your best friends, Unity might not have formed, and you'd be brought up by people that at best would neglect you."

James made another face. "Okay, I know my life could have been worse before I started Hogwarts. I'm going to write down the dream in my commonplace book and let you two go back to sleep. See you later, Mari."

"Good-night, James," said Mari. "Or rather, good-morning." She then ended the connection. James nodded at Kyle and then returned to his room to write down the dream.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I forgot to mention it in the final chapter of my previous fic, but Gryffindor narrowly won the House Cup due to their winning the Quidditch Cup, and Hermione dropped Muggle Studies like she did in the books.

Mari Flooed over an hour after breakfast, carrying a notebook with her. She completely ignored Stella and Stuart as she walked past, but did nod at Sirius before following James and Kyle upstairs. Once in James's bedroom, she shut the door and put a Silencing Charm on it so that no noise could escape the room. Kyle protested, "But we're not supposed to do magic -"

"It's fine," interrupted Mari. "The Ministry can't tell who does magic as long as it's in a wizarding home and there is an overage witch or wizard present. So the Ministry will naturally assume that it's the overage person that does the magic, and so it's up to the parents or guardians to enforce the underage magic law. Only those that are Muggleborn, raised in the Muggle world, or are around Muggles can actually be detected for underage magic."

"That's not fair," said Kyle. "So if I really wanted to do magic outside of school, it would have to be an emergency or if I was visiting you or James."

"That's beside the point," said Mari. "I couldn't go back to sleep after you told me about your dream and scar hurting, James, so I went to the study and looked through the books there to see if I could find anything about curse scars and so forth. Unfortunately, your scar is rather unique, so I couldn't find any information pertinent to it. However, I did find a book tucked away in a top shelf. It was in Japanese, so I couldn't read it, but I did a translation spell. It didn't quite work the way I wanted to, because instead of translating it into English, it just translated the characters into Japanese written in phonetic English, so I had to do a bit of deciphering on my own. Well, there was a very good reason why it was hidden away in that top shelf. It was about Dark Magic, and listed some practices that were absolutely forbidden. Including one thing that makes me think Riddle actually did it."

The two boys stared at her. "What are you talking about?" inquired James.

"Well, I don't know what it's called in English, but it's creating something that involves splitting your soul and putting the soul piece in an object so that you can never die so long as the object is intact. I think that diary was, for lack of a better term, a soul object. You know, back in second year, when the Chamber of Secrets was being opened? It got destroyed, but since Riddle is still alive and trying to return to a corporeal body, I suspect that he has at least one more. That would explain why he didn't die when you defeated him the first time, James."

"Okay, splitting a soul doesn't sound that great, but why is it forbidden?" asked James.

Mari sighed, and in a patient tone that sounded like she explaining something to a five-year old, answered, "Because to create one of those soul objects, a really evil and violent deed, like murder, has to be done. The book also said that you would either have to really truly regret what you did or destroy the soul objects. And apparently normal methods of destruction, such as when I tried to set the diary on fire, don't work. It has to be something with practically no antidote or counter to it, like the basilisk venom Professor Dumbledore used."

"We can't be the only ones that know about this," said Kyle suddenly. "Dumbledore must at least suspect, because he did say that the diary couldn't be destroyed by normal means."

"Good point," said Mari. "Dumbledore would have to know or suspect. He practically led the war against Riddle, and would have done his best to find out everything about his enemy. I think Aunt Reiko also suspects, since Japan has kept an eye on Dark Lords and Ladies in other countries so they can prevent one from taking power at home."

James shuddered. "Let's just keep this to ourselves for now. Not that I don't trust the rest of Unity, but if Riddle should return to power and somehow capture one of them, and then found out that they knew he must have created soul objects, things would be horrible for them."

"Okay," said Mari. "Here, I wrote down what the book said about soul objects in English. You can copy it down in your commonplace book."

While James copied down what Mari had written in her notebook, Kyle went to the next room to grab his notebook and a pen, since it was quicker for him to write things down the Muggle way than use a quill. When he returned to the room, he started writing in the notebook. When James was done copying, Kyle said, "Okay, we know that the diary was a soul object. There has to be at least one more, and Riddle most likely created several, figuring the more the better to ensure that he didn't die. If one or two got destroyed, he would have back-ups, and it would be rather difficult to hunt down five or six soul objects from wherever he hid them and destroy them."

Mari sighed. "He probably made six or seven. Seven is a magical number, so if he made six, then his soul would be split in seven parts. Or he could have decided that having seven soul objects would be best for him. One's destroyed, so we have to figure out what the other five or six are and destroy them eventually."

"'Eventually' is going to have to be in two or three years," pointed out James. "Not only do we have no idea as to what the other soul objects are or where they're hidden, but we have no way to destroy them unless I open the Chamber and get a basilisk fang or two. Furthermore, we're underage, and can't go off on what is wild goose hunt right now."

"Actually, I think I have an idea as to what one of the soul objects is, and where it's hidden," said Kyle. "It's at Hogwarts, and I think it could be the Special Services to the school award Riddle got. It could very well have some significance to him, and what better way to hide something than in plain sight?"

"You have a point, Kyle, but let's not go jumping to conclusions right away," cautioned Mari. "When we return to Hogwarts, I'm going to do some research on this. I'll have to ask the Room of Requirement to provide us with information about Riddle's past, and any objects that would be important enough for him to use as soul objects."

"If Salazar Slytherin left any heirlooms, Riddle could have tracked them down to use as soul objects," suggested James. "Since he is the last known descendant of Slytherin."

Kyle quickly jotted that down, and Mari said, "Good thinking, James. I'll look into it. Okay, we'd better go downstairs before Sirius starts wondering what we're up to."

For the rest of the week, James managed to hide his concerns and acted normally around Sirius, Remus, his siblings, and Dobby. Whenever Mari came by, the trio pondered what other possible objects Riddle could have used to create his soul objects. Kyle was the one that came up with the theory that heirlooms belonging to the other Founders could have been used. Mari instantly Flooed home, but returned a few minutes later with a book on the Founders. She perused it for awhile, then said, "Well, I don't think anything belonging to Godric Gryffindor was used. His only heirlooms are the Sorting Hat and a sword, and both are in the Headmaster's office somewhere. Helga Hufflepuff is said to have had a cup, and not the sort that you drink out of. It's more like a trophy cup. And Rowena Ravenclaw had a diadem, but it disappeared after her death. Riddle could have found it and Hufflepuff's cup."

"What's a diadem?" asked James.

"A tiara or crown," responded Mari. "Anyway, for Slytherin, he was known to have a locket. If he has any other heirlooms, they aren't known."

James wrote it all down in his commonplace book and then gave a dismal sigh. "We might have possible soul objects, but we have no idea where they are."

"Well, we have other things to worry about besides this," said Kyle. "There's the plot against the three of us, and we still have our fourth year at Hogwarts."

The day of the Quidditch World Cup finally arrived. James groaned as Stella woke him up at four in the morning. When he would have gone back to sleep, she yanked off the covers and uncermoniously dumped him on the floor. "Get dressed and wash up," she snapped. "Breakfast is in fifteen minutes, and then we have to catch the Portkey at five thirty."

With a few grumbles, James got dressed and then went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. After five minutes, he went downstairs to the kitchen, where Dean (who was going with them as he also lived in London) was was pouring out milk, Dobby and Kreacher were setting out plates of scrambled eggs and bacon, Sirius was making toast, and Stella was setting out the utensils. Kyle and Stuart turned up a minute later and then everyone sat down to have breakfast. At ten minutes to five, they quickly grabbed their necessary supplies and then caught a taxi to just outside London. After a ten-minute walk, they arrived at the Portkey location. There were four other wizarding families that lived in the London area, and two of them were there. The third family had tickets that required them to set up camp three days early, and the fourth apparently hadn't been able to get tickets at all.

The group crowded around the punctured football that was the Portkey and each person put a finger on it. A minute after that, they were whisked away. It was James's first time using a Portkey, it wasn't exactly the most pleasant experience. When they arrived at their campsite, James lost his balance and knocked into Dean, who then knocked into the nine-year old girl of one of the other families. The three fell to the ground in a tangled heap. With a chuckle, Sirius and the girl's father helped them get up.

After paying and getting maps to their campsites (the manager, Mr. Roberts, had to have his memory modified), the Black party set out to their campsite, which happened to be in the same area as the Weasleys and Mari's family. Mr. Weasley was having fun trying to set up camp the Muggle way, with help from Hermione, who had gone camping before with her parents and so had some idea how to set up a tent. Sirius shook his head as he watched, and then took out the two tents. James had gone on a camping trip once with Kyle and his adopted parents, so the two of them and Dean (who had also gone camping once), helped Sirius set up their tents, which were much larger inside than it looked outside.

After that, Mari and Ry came by, and collected the three boys plus Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville so that they could get some water and see if they could find anyone else in Unity. As they walked, Mari announced that Minister Kishi was coming to the match, and would be sitting in the Top Box with them. According to her aunt, the Bulgarian Minister of Magic and Minister Fudge would also be in the Top Box.

James gazed around the campsite. While the tents Sirius and the Weasleys had were fairly normal, a number of other people had slipped up and had tents that were quite obviously magical or had extra features that Muggle tents wouldn't have, like weather vanes. One tent even had a several peacocks tied outside.

In a section decorated mostly with shamrocks, clearly the Irish section, they came cross Seamus and his mother. After exchanging greetings, the group assured Mrs. Finnigan that they were indeed supporting Ireland. After that, they decided to check out the Bulgarian section, whose decorations seemed to compose of their national flag and posters of Viktor Krum, their Seeker, who apparently was quite young, about eighteen, and so quite famous. In all the posters, Krum looked rather surly, but James got the impression that it was due to his fame. While Krum no doubt didn't mind being a famous Seeker much, he probably didn't like people only focusing on his fame and not on what kind of person he was.

In the queue to collect water, the group ran into Keiko and Tami, who looked really happy to see them, and Anthony and Terry. After filling their buckets, Keiko and Tami dragged them to meet their parents, who smiled and said it was pleasure to finally meet some of the students who had made their daughters' year at Hogwarts so wonderful.

On the way back to their tents, they came across Luna and her father, plus Bianca and her parents and Colin with his younger brother Dennis, who was going to start Hogwarts that year. Dennis, who looked like a tinier version of his brother, was really excited to see his first Quidditch match, and thrilled that Bianca had invited him to come with Colin. They also ran into the Macmillians and Justin.

Finally the group arrived at their respective tents, where Fred reported that Mr. Weasley had been having fun with the matches until Stella had shown him how to do it properly. Sirius hadn't had any trouble at with lighting a match and starting the fire.

Remus showed up an hour after that, and helped with the preparation of some food. Various people walked by, many of them in the Ministry, and Mr. Weasley kept a running commentary for the benefit of the teens (except his children, who knew too much about the Ministry find it interesting.) Percy, Charlie, and Bill arrived in time for lunch, and James got to met the two eldest Weasley sons for the first time. Charlie was stocky like the twins, and had several burns on his arms due to his work with dragons. Bill was tall, and though he had been Head Boy like Percy, he looked nothing like his younger brother. Bill had longish hair pulled in a ponytail, a fang earring, and wore dragonhide boots, In short, he looked rather cool, despite the green jumper he was wearing.

Ludo Bagman, who was a former Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps and current head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, came by. Bagman was wearing his old Quidditch robes, which were now a somewhat tight around the waist, and his manner was like an excited kid.

He did offer to take bets on the match, naming several others who had also placed bets. Mr. Weasley bet a Galleon on Ireland winning, and Sirius bet five on the same outcome. Bagman then asked if the others wanted to, and Mr. Weasley pointed out that they were too young, but got interrupted by Fred and George.

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," said Fred as he and George quickly pooled all their money, "that Ireland wins - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we'll throw in a fake wand."

"You don't want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that," Percy hissed, but Bagman didn't seem to think the wand was rubbish at all; on the contrary, his boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter.

"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"

Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval.

"Boys," said Mr. Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting… That's all your savings… Your mother -"

"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo Bagman, rattling his pockets excitedly. "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance… I'll give you excellent odds on that one… We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we…"

Mr. Weasley looked on helplessly as Ludo Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names.

"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away into the front of his robes. Bagman turned most cheerfully back to Mr. Weasley. While they were talking about Crouch, James and Kyle exchanged looks. Actually, the bet the Weasley twins had made could very well come true, since the Irish Chasers were excellent, but Krum was a great Seeker. Ireland no doubt had made it to the Cup because of their Chasers, who would have outscored the other nations' teams by a large margin, and Bulgaria would have made it due to Krum's excellent Seeker abilities.

At this point, Barty Crouch, head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Percy's boss, dropped by. Sirius glared at him, but didn't say anything. James made a face, for Crouch had been the one to send Sirius to Azkaban without a trial. It was no surprise why Percy idolised his boss, for Crouch had complied with the rule about dressing like Muggles so thoroughly that he could have passed as a banker or businessman in his crisp suit and tie.

There was conversation that James tuned out, but he noticed that Crouch apparently didn't have Percy's name right, for he called him "Weatherby". After awhile, Crouch and Bagman left, Bagman saying that he'd see them all later in the Top Box.

A sense of excitement rose like a palpable cloud over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with anticipation, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretence disappeared: the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere.

Salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - which were squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their national anthems as they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves.

Ron bought a dancing shamrock hat, a large green rosette, and a small figure of Viktor Krum. Harry had bought a green rosette and an Irish flag, and then spotted a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except that they were covered with all sorts of weird knobs and dials.

"Omnioculars," said the saleswizard eagerly. "You can replay action… slow everything down… and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain - ten Galleons each."

James bought three pairs and handed one each to Kyle and Dean, who thanked him. Kyle then went to get programs for the three, while Ron looked rather longingly at the Omnioculars and remarked wistfully that he wished he hadn't bought the hat, rosette, and figure of Viktor Krum. James would have bought another pair, but he knew perfectly well that Ron would never take it, for he could be touchy about the fact that most of his friends had more money than he did.

However, at this moment, Ry came over, two Omnioculars in his hands. "I got two of these, but then found out that Mari had already bought two. She gave the other to Sakura since I don't need one, but as my brother already got Omnioculars, I have an extra one. Here, Ron, do you want it, since James, Dean, and Kyle already have them?"

Ron hesitated, but in the end accepted the Omnioculars.

Their money bags considerably lighter, they went back to the tents. Remus and Sirius were wearing the shamrock hats and green rosettes. Bill, Charlie, and Ginny were all sporting green rosettes too, and Mr. Weasley was carrying an Irish flag. Fred and George had bought no souvenirs as they had given Bagman all their gold, but Sirius had gotten them each a rosette.

And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.

"It's time!" exclaimed Sirius is excitement. "Let's go!" With that, the Weasleys and the Black party headed for the stadium.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I am not going to write about the match, because it is essentially the same as in the book. So please just refer to chapter eight of _Goblet of Fire_ if you wish to reread it.

James left the stands, still shocked by the result. Ireland had won, one hundred seventy points to one hundred sixty, with Krum catching the Snitch. While he knew logically that what Fred and George had bet on could happen, he hadn't expected it to actually come true, though he hoped it would for their sakes.

By the time he arrived back at the tents, the sounds of the Irish celebrating their victory could be heard in the distance. Remus made some hot chocolate and everyone sat around for awhile to talk about the match. Finally they went to bed, with Remus muttering a comment on how he wouldn't fancy having to tell the Irish supporters to stop their celebrating.

It felt like he had just fallen asleep before screams woke James up. At first he thought that the celebrating was still going on, but then Sirius came in and snapped, "Get dressed. There's trouble going on. Remus and I are going with Arthur to see if we can do anything. You guys are going with the Weasley kids to the woods. Stuart and Stella, you are in charge, along with Fred and George. Hurry up!"

James put on his glasses, then got out of bed and quickly pulled on a sweater and jeans over his pyjamas. Then he grabbed his wand and hurried out the tent after Dean and Kyle. That was when he saw exactly what was going on. A group of people, wearing masks, had their wands out and had hung the site manager, Mr. Roberts, and who could only be his wife and children in midair. One of the children was being spun around like a top, while Mrs. Roberts was upside down and trying to keep her nightgown down so that her drawers weren't exposed.

"That is just sick," said James, starting to look green. Ron, who had joined them, nodded in agreement.

Just then, Mari, Ry, Sakura, and Ichirou showed up. "Mum says that we should stick with you guys while she and Dad help take care of things," said Ichirou.

The group set out, but along the way, Ron tripped over a tree root and knocked into Neville. Their friends stopped to help them up, and by the time they were settled, they found that the others, including Ginny, had gone on ahead without noticing that they'd fallen behind.

"Stupid tree root," muttered Ron angrily. "I can't believe that I tripped over it."

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said a drawling voice from behind them.

The seven of them turned sharply. Draco Malfoy was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed.

His arms folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene at the campsite through a gap in the trees. Ron told Malfoy to do something that James knew he would never have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley.

"Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like them spotted, would you?"

He nodded at Hermione and Dean, and at the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Hermione defiantly.

"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Malfoy. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around… they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

"Hermione and Dean are magical!" James snapped angrily.

"Have it your own way, Lydell," said Malfoy, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

"And where are your parents?" interrupted Ry acidly. "Is your father one of those idiots in masks?"

"Well, if he was, I wouldn't be likely to tell you now, would I?" returned Malfoy.

James rolld his eyes at the answer, which pretty much confirmed that the real answer was yes. "Bug off, Malfoy," snapped Dean, and they strode away.

After a few minutes, they took out their wands to conjure some light, except for Ry, who discovered that he didn't have his wand on him. "Drat, I must have dropped it along the way. Wait, did I grab my wand when I left the tent?"

"You really didn't forget your wand, did you, Ry?" asked Mari. "You've always had your wand on you except when you sleep or you're in the shower."

"I'm not perfect, you know. There's bound to be at least one time that I forget to have my wand on me. Though I guess it's more likely that I dropped it while we were walking."

"Let's hope you did leave your wand in the tent, because I don't think your parents would like to hear that you dropped and lost it," said Hermione. "What's that noise?"

A rustling noise nearby made all three of them jump. Winky, Mr. Crouch's house-elf, was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible were trying to hold her back.

"There is bad wizards about!" she squeaked distractedly as she leaned forward and labored to keep running. "People high - high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!"

And she disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, panting and squeaking as she fought the force that was restraining her.

"What's the matter with her?" asked Neville, looking curiously after Winky. "Why is moving like she's under the Impediment Jinx?"

"She probably didn't ask permission to hide," replied James. "You know that Dobby kept wanting to punish himself whenever he thought he was doing something we wouldn't like or didn't tell him to do until we had to order him to stop and just come to come to us if he felt that he needed punishment."

Hermione made a face at that. "Come on, let's keep going," said Mari.

They set off again, Ry still searching his pockets, even though he knew his wand wasn't there. They followed the dark path deeper into the wood, still keeping an eye out for the others. They passed a group of goblins who were cackling over a sack of gold that they had undoubtedly won betting on the match, and who seemed quite unperturbed by the trouble at the campsite. Farther still along the path, they walked into a patch of silvery light, and when they looked through the trees, they saw three tall and beautiful veela standing in a clearing, surrounded by a gaggle of young wizards, all of whom were talking very loudly.

"I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year!" one of them shouted. "I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."

"No, you're not!" yelled his friend. "You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron… but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far -"

A third young wizard, whose pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the veela, now cut in, "I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am."

James snorted with laughter. He recognized the pimply wizard: His name was Stan Shunpike, and he was in fact a conductor on the triple-decker Knight Bus. He turned to tell Ron this, but Ron's face had gone oddly slack, and next second Ron was yelling, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"

Neville had to stifle a chuckle and Ry rolled his eyes. Kyle just sighed and took Mari's hand. Since he was currently in a relationship, veelas didn't really affect him.

They soon reached a small clearing, where they bumped into Ludo Bagman, who looked a bit harried. He apparently didn't even know what was going on, for they had to tell him about the wizards in masks that were torturing Muggles. When he heard that, he muttered a curse under his breath and Apparated away.

The group sat down and Ron pulled his model of Krum out of his pocket. They watched it walk around and commented on great it would be if Mr. Weasley caught Lucius Malfoy.

"Those poor Muggles, though," said Hermione nervously. "What if they can't get them down?"

"They will," said Ron reassuringly. "They'll find a way."

"Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight!" said Hermione. "I mean, how do they expect to get away with it? Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just -"

But she broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder. The others looked quickly around too. It sounded as though someone was staggering toward their clearing. They waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.

"Hello?" called James.

There was silence. James got to his feet and peered around the tree. It was too dark to see very far, but he could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of his vision.

"Who's there?" he said.

And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any they had heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell.

"MORSMORDRE!"

And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness James's eyes had been struggling to penetrate; it flew up over the treetops and into the sky.

"What the -?" gasped Ron as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing that had appeared.

For a split second, James thought it was another leprechaun formation. Then he realized that it was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation.

Suddenly, the wood all around them erupted with screams. James didn't understand why, but the only possible cause was the sudden appearance of the skull, which had now risen high enough to illuminate the entire wood like some grisly neon sign. He scanned the darkness for the person who had conjured the skull, but he couldn't see anyone.

"Who's there?" he called again.

"James, come on, move! That's the Dark Mark!" Mari had seized the collar of his jacket and was tugging him backward.

"What's the matter?" James asked, startled to see her face so white and terrified. "And what's the Dark Mark?"

"That is!" snapped Mari, gesturing at the skull and snake. "Riddle's sign! Now come on!" That was when he remembered what he had read in _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_.

James turned, face pale - Ron was hurriedly scooping up his miniature Krum and Dean was helping Neville up - the seven of them started across the clearing - but before they had taken a few hurried steps, a series of popping noises announced the arrival of twenty wizards, appearing from thin air, surrounding them.

James whirled around, and in an instant, he registered one fact: Each of these wizards had his wand out, and every wand was pointing right at their group.

Without pausing to think, he yelled, "DUCK!" The entire group fell to the floor.

"STUPEFY!" roared twenty voices - there was a blinding series of flashes and James felt the hair on his head ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the clearing. Raising his head a fraction of an inch he saw jets of fiery red light flying over them from the wizards' wands, crossing one another, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness—

"Stop!" yelled a voice he recognized. "STOP! That's my son!"

James's hair stopped blowing about. He raised his head a little higher. The wizard in front of him had lowered his wand. He rolled over and saw Mr. Weasley striding toward them, looking terrified.

"Guys" - his voice sounded shaky - "are you all right?"

There was a gasp and then Mrs. Hirashi exclaimed, "Mariko! Ryouto! What are you two doing here?" She hurried over behind Mr. Weasley.

"Out of the way, Arthur, Lady Hirashi," said a cold, curt voice.

It was Mr. Crouch. He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on them. James got to his feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage.

"Which of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"We didn't do that!" exclaimed Dean, gesturing up at the skull. "I didn't even know what it was, since I'm Muggleborn!"

"We didn't do anything!" said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. "What did you want to attack us for?"

"Do not lie, sir!" shouted Mr. Crouch. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping - he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Barty," whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing gown, "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to."

"Where did the Mark come from, you seven?" said Mr. Weasley quickly.

"Over there," said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they had heard the voice. "There was someone behind the trees… they shouted words – an incantation -"

"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy -"

"Considering that they were present when it was summoned, of course she would know what happened, Mr. Crouch," said Mrs. Hirashi acidly.

But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that the group had conjured the skull; on the contrary, at Hermione's words, they had all raised their wands again and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees.

"We're too late," said the witch in the woolen dressing gown, shaking her head. "They'll have Disapparated."

"I don't think so," said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Our Stunners went right through those trees… There's a good chance we got them…

"Amos, be careful!" said a few of the wizards warningly as Mr. Diggory squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness. Hermione watched him vanish with her hands over her mouth. A few seconds later, they heard Mr. Diggory shout.

"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's - but - blimey..

"You've got someone?" shouted Mr. Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is it?"

They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Mr. Diggory reemerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Harry recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky.

Mr. Crouch did not move or speak as Mr. Diggory deposited his elf on the ground at his feet. The other Ministry wizards were all staring at Mr. Crouch. For a few seconds Crouch remained transfixed, his eyes blazing in his white face as he stared down at Winky. Then he appeared to come to life again.

"This - cannot - be," he said jerkily. "No -"

He moved quickly around Mr. Diggory and strode off toward the place where he had found Winky.

"No point, Mr. Crouch," Mr. Diggory called after him. "There's no one else there."

But Mr. Crouch did not seem prepared to take his word for it. They could hear him moving around and the rustling of leaves as he pushed the bushes aside, searching.

"Bit embarrassing," Mr. Diggory said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form. "Barty Crouch's house-elf… I mean to say…"

"Come off it, Amos," said Mr. Weasley quietly, "you don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."

"Yeah," said Mr. Diggory, "and she had a wand."

"What?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Here, look." Mr. Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr. Weasley. "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."

"She's not a creature, she's a being," muttered Ry. His mother hushed him.

Just then there was another pop, and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr. Weasley. Looking breathless and disorientated, he spun on the spot, goggling upward at the emerald-green skull.

"The Dark Mark!" he panted, almost trampling Winky as he turned inquiringly to his colleagues. "Who did it? Did you get them? Barty! What's going on?"

Mr. Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still ghostly white, and his hands and his toothbrush mustache were both twitching.

"Where have you been, Barty?" said Bagman. "Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too - gulping gargoyles!" Bagman had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to her?"

"I have been busy, Ludo," said Mr. Crouch, still talking in the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips. "And my elf has been stunned."

"Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why -?"

Comprehension dawned suddenly on Bagman's round, shiny face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Mr. Crouch.

"No!" he said. "Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!"

"And she had one," said Mr. Diggory. "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."

Crouch gave no sign that he had heard Mr. Diggory, but Mr. Diggory seemed to take his silence for assent. He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Ennervate!"

Winky stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way. Watched by the silent wizards, she raised herself shakily into a sitting position.

She caught sight of Mr. Diggory's feet, and slowly, tremulously, raised her eyes to stare up into his face; then, more slowly still, she looked up into the sky. Harry could see the floating skull reflected twice in her enormous, glassy eyes. She gave a gasp, looked wildly around the crowded clearing, and burst into terrified sobs.

"Elf!" said Mr. Diggory sternly. "Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!"

Winky began to rock backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts.

James was reminded forcibly of Dobby in his moment of terrified disobedience when he had come to warn Unity about the plot to have the Chamber of Secrets opened.

"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago," said Mr. Diggory. "And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!"

"I - I - I is not doing it, sir!" Winky gasped. "I is not knowing how, sir!"

"Mr. Diggory!" interrupted Mrs. Hirashi. "While the evidence is against Winky, there is no need to be so harsh with her. And you should call her by her name, not 'elf'."

"Lady Hirashi, I know what I'm doing. Please don't interefere." Mr. Diggory then turned back to Winky. "You were found with a wand in your hand!" he barked, brandishing it in front of her. And as the wand caught the green light that was filling the clearing from the skull above, Ry recognized it.

"Hey - that's mine!" he said. Everyone in the clearing looked at him.

"Excuse me?" asked Mr. Diggory, incredulously.

"That's my wand!" exclaimed. "I dropped it!"

"You dropped it?" repeated Mr. Diggory in disbelief. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"

"Mr. Diggory!" snapped Mrs. Hirashi. "That is my son you're talking about! Do you honestly that I or my husband would teach him Dark Magic? Such a thing is forbidden in Japan."

"Oh - no, of course not!" Mr. Diggory looked a bit flustered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply-"

"And if my son were to learn Dark Magic on his own, such a thing would result him being disowned, his wand snapped, and being sent to live in the Muggle world," continued Mrs. Hirashi. "We take such things very seriously and do everything possible to prevent a Dark Lord or Lady from taking power in Japan."

"I didn't drop it there, anyway," said Ry, jerking his thumb toward the trees beneath the skull. "I missed it right after we got into the wood."

"So," said Mr. Diggory, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Winky again, cowering at his feet. "You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"

"I is not doing magic with it, sir!" squealed Winky, tears streaming down the sides of her squashed and bulbous nose. "I is… I is… I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!"

"It wasn't her!" snapped Mari angrily. "Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" She looked around at her friends, appealing for their support. "It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?"

"No," said James, shaking his head. "It definitely didn't sound like an elf."

"Yeah, it was a human voice," said Ron.

"Well, we'll soon see," growled Mr. Diggory, looking unimpressed. "There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?"

Winky trembled and shook her head frantically, her ears flapping, as Mr. Diggory raised his own wand again and placed it tip to tip with Ry's.

"Prior Incantato!" roared Mr. Diggory.

James heard Hermione gasp, horrified, as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them; it looked as though it were made of thick gray smoke: the ghost of a spell.

"Deletrius!" Mr. Diggory shouted, and the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke.

"So," said Mr. Diggory with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively.

"I is not doing it!" she squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"

"You've been caught red-handed, elf!" Mr. Diggory roared. "Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!"

"Amos," said Mr. Weasley loudly, "think about it… precious few wizards know how to do that spell… Where would she have learned it?"

"Perhaps Amos is suggesting," said Mr. Crouch, cold anger in every syllable, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"

There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos Diggory looked horrified. "Mr. Crouch… not… not at all."

"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark!" barked Mr. Crouch. "Ryouto Hirashi – and myself. Japan doesn't tolerate anyone learning anything associated with Dark Magic! And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career, that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?"

"Mr. Crouch, I - I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" Amos Diggory muttered again, now reddening behind his scrubby brown beard.

"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" shouted Mr. Crouch. "Where else would she have learned to conjure it?"

"She - she might've picked it up anywhere -"

"Precisely, Amos," said Mr. Weasley. "She might have picked it up anywhere… Winky?" he said kindly, turning to the elf, but she flinched as though he too was shouting at her. "Where exactly did you find Ryouto's wand?"

Winky was twisting the hem of her tea towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers.

"I - I is finding it… finding it there, sir…" she whispered, "there… in the trees, sir."

"You see, Amos?" said Mr. Weasley. "Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Ryouto's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up."

"But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit!" said Mr. Diggory impatiently. "Elf? Did you see anyone?" Mrs. Hirashi opened her mouth, then shut it again.

Winky began to tremble worse than ever. Her giant eyes flickered from Mr. Diggory, to Ludo Bagman, and onto Mr. Crouch. Then she gulped and said, "I is seeing no one, sir… no one…"

"Amos," said Mr. Crouch curtly, "I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her."

Mr. Diggory looked as though he didn't think much of this suggestion at all, but it was clear to James that Mr. Crouch was such an important member of the Ministry that he did not dare refuse him.

"You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr. Crouch added coldly.

"M-m-master…" Winky stammered, looking up at Mr. Crouch, her eyes brimming with tears. "M-m-master, p-p-please…"

Mr. Crouch stared back, his face somehow sharpened, each line upon it more deeply etched. There was no pity in his gaze.

"Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible," he said slowly. "I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes."

"No!" shrieked Winky, prostrating herself at Mr. Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"

James knew that the only way to turn a house-elf free was to present it with proper garments. It was pitiful to see the way Winky clutched at her tea towel as she sobbed over Mr. Crouch's feet.

"But she was frightened!" Hermione burst out angrily, glaring at Mr. Crouch. "Your elf's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"

Mr. Crouch took a step backward, freeing himself from contact with the elf, whom he was surveying as though she were something filthy and rotten that was contaminating his over-shined shoes.

"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me," he said coldly, looking over at Hermione. "I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation."

"But Winky didn't mean any harm!" snapped Mari, looking furious. "And you can't just sack her like that! In Japan, house-elves-"

"Mariko Kishi, this isn't Japan," Mrs. Hirashi interrupted firmly. "Winky is Mr. Crouch's elf, and if he wishes to give her clothes, he has every right to do so. Now please apologize to Mr. Crouch for your behavior."

Mari looked rebellious, but after a couple of second, sighed and said in a forced tone of politeness, "I apologize for being rude, Mr. Crouch."

Meanwhile, Winky was crying so hard that her sobs echoed around the clearing. There was a very nasty silence, which was ended by Mr. Weasley, who said quietly, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can - if Ryouto could have it back, please -"

Mr. Diggory handed Ry his wand and Ry pocketed it. Mrs. Hirashi bent down over Winky and said gently, "Winky, if you like, you can work for my family. I promise that we'll never give you clothes and you'll have a job with us for the rest of your life."

Winky's sobs subsided somewhat and she managed to stammer her acceptance. Mrs. Hirashi gave Winky the address to go to once she'd gotten her clothes and then got up. Before leaving the clearing with Ry and Mari, she shot a glare at Mr. Crouch's back.

Mr. Weasley asked them what happened, and Neville explained that they'd gotten separated from the others when he and Ron had tripped. Ron then asked about the Dark Mark, but both Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Hirashi said they'd explain back at their tents.

But when they reached the edge of the wood, their progress was impeded. A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards was congregated there, and when they saw Mr. Weasley coming toward them, many of them surged forward.

"What's going on in there?"

"Who conjured it?"

"Arthur - it's not - Him?"

"Of course it's not Him," said Mr. Weasley impatiently. "We don't know who it was; it looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed."

Mrs. Hirashi grabbed Mari's and Ry's hands and whisked them over to their tent, where Mr. Hirashi, Ichirou, and Sakura were waiting, the latter two looking frightened. Sirius and Remus burst out their tent and Sirius immediately enveloped James in a tight hug. Remus hesitated for a moment, then turned and hugged Kyle.

"What happened to you guys?" demanded Stella. "We turned around and you weren't with us."

Dean explained what happened, with help from the others. Percy was of the opinion that Mr. Crouch was right to sack Winky, but then Stella retorted that Crouch was the one that sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial and sacking his elf like that was just along the same lines. Percy looked shocked, then thoughtful once he'd digested what she had said.

Mr. Weasley, Sirius, and Remus then explained to the full significance of the Dark Mark before sending everyone off to get a few hours of sleep prior to get a Portkey.

James got back into his bunk with his head buzzing. He knew he ought to feel exhausted: It was nearly three in the morning, but he felt wide-awake – wide awake, and worried. Three days ago - it felt like much longer, but it had only been three days - he had awoken with his scar burning. And tonight, for the first time in thirteen years, Voldemort's mark had appeared in the sky. What did these things mean? He decided to discuss it further with Mari and Kyle later that day.


	4. Chapter 4

It felt as if James had no sooner fallen asleep than Sirius shook him awake. "I was able to get a Portkey for us to leave. Come on." James got out of bed, got dressed, then helped with the packing up, most of which Sirius, Remus, and the Lydell twins did with magic in order to speed things up. When they were taking their leave from the site manager, Mr. Roberts looked unfocused and vaguely said, "Merry Christmas."

James looked questioningly at Remus, who responded, "It's the Memory Charm on him. That was a big thing that they had to make him forget."

Safely back in Grimmauld Place, James went upstairs, but didn't go to bed. He felt too worked up to go back to sleep. Instead, he paced around his bedroom until Dobby summoned him for breakfast. In the kitchen, he just picked at his food, and wouldn't speak to anyone until the meal was over. That was when he bid good-bye to Dean, who was Flooing over to Seamus so he could discuss the events of the early morning with his best friend.

Back upstairs, James refused to talk with anyone except Kyle, and Mari when she Flooed over two hours later. "Where's Ry?" asked Kyle. "I thought he'd want to come over with you."

"He's gone to the Weasleys," answered Mari. "Neville's there, and he and Ron are Ry's best friends. They're going to notify the rest of Unity about what happened via our notebooks."

"What's going on with Winky?" asked James.

"She showed up an hour ago, wearing a skirt and blouse. Oh, and one of those traditional maid's caps with holes for her ears. At least Crouch gave her decent clothes to wear when he sacked her." Mari then muttered something in Japanese that James was sure was something uncomplimentary about Crouch. "Anyway, Aunt Yuki showed Winky the bedroom she was going to share with Ami, our other house-elf, and then sent her to the kitchen, where Ami took charge of things. Winky was still upset about getting clothes, but Ami was comforting her."

"Poor Winky," said Kyle. "She really shouldn't have been sacked like that. Just because she happens to be friends with Dobby doesn't mean that she's happy to be free like he is."

"Well, she'll adjust," said Mari. "Ami will take care of her, and if Winky really objects to wearing clothes, then Aunt Yuki will just let her wear the same outfit that Ami does."

James nodded, knowing that Japanese house-elves wore pieces of flowered cloth that were sewn to sort of resemble sleeveless kimonos, but weren't actual clothes at all.

"Now, we need to have a serious talk," said Mari, taking out her notebook and a pen. "I wrote down everything that happened last night, and then my thoughts on it in Japanese written in phonetic English. That way nobody outside my family, who respects my privacy in any case, can read it. Want to take a look?"

James glanced down at the open notebook. While he had learned some Japanese the previous year from the exchange students, enough so that he wouldn't be totally dependent on translators if he went to Japan again, it was a struggle to decipher even part of what Mari had written. Really, Minister Kishi was better at Bulgarian than he was in Japanese, though she'd had to ask the Bulgarian Minister of Magic to speak slowly in order to understand him. Then again, she had made a point to learn a couple of other languages besides English upon becoming Minister, and with the aid of a translation spell, learned enough Bulgarian to communicate when she heard that Bulgaria had made it to the World Cup. The Bulgarian Minister, who had pretended not to know English until after the match so that he could be entertained by Minister Fudge miming things all day, had been impressed.

Kyle, who had a better head for languages, considering that he was almost fluent in French and so had little difficulty when he'd gone on holiday to France a couple of years ago, did better. "Hmm, you think that person that cast the Dark Mark was working independently of the ones that were torturing Muggles. Is that supposed to be 'Death Eaters'? You put down the Japanese words for 'dead' and 'eater'."

Mari nodded. "I have no idea what they'd be called in Japan, so I just used a literal translation of the two words. Here, I'll give you a full translation. Well, I do think that whomever cast the Dark Mark wasn't a part of the group that were using magic on the Muggles. That person would have to be a Death Eater that evaded arrest, since I don't think anyone else would know how to conjure the Mark. I'm pretty sure that Winky must have seen him or her, but she's not going to say otherwise anytime soon, so that's a dead end for now. And I really don't think it had anything to do with Riddle's plot, since he's not stupid enough to cause trouble at an event with heightened security until he regains power."

"The plot's going to unfold anyway," said James. "Considering everything that's happened before, it'll probably take place at Hogwarts. In fact, I'm certain it will, because Riddle can use the excitement over the Quartet Quest being held as a cover for his activities."

"At least we're not taking part in it," pointed out Kyle. "All we have to do is watch and cheer on the Hogwarts Champion, since only those who are of age can participate."

"Well, I hope it's Stuart. You know he said he planned to submit his name when Sirius told us about the Tournament. I mean Quest. Which reminds me, why do we need dress robes this year? Dobby and Kreacher did the shopping for school supplies yesterday, and a set of dress robes was piled with the rest of my new school things on my bed this morning."

Mari sighed. "James, did you forget everything we read about the Triwizard Tournament after Sirius and Uncle Tomi told us it was being reinstated? It's traditional for a ball to be held on Christmas, so obviously that means we would need dress robes to wear at the event."

James looked horrified. "A ball? But I can't even dance properly! And how in Merlin's name do you expect me to ask someone to be my date? The only girl I would have no problem asking would be you, Mari, but I'm not interested in you in that way, since you're like a sister to me, just like how you're like my brother, Kyle."

"You'd better only see Mari as a sister, or I'd hex you into a million bits," Kyle said jokingly. "As for a date, there's currently almost thirty girls in Unity. You can just ask one of them to go with you, as friends. In fact, I think that's pretty much what we'll do. There's an equal number of guys and girls in our group, after all."

"The Yule Ball isn't important right now," said Mari a trifle impatiently. "We'll deal with it when the time comes. James, you have to tell Sirius and Remus about the dream and your scar hurting, now. They can give us further advice."

James sighed, but went downstairs and did as Mari said. Sirius looked alarmed when he heard everything and immediately had James promise to be extremely careful during the school year and not do anything rash. He was also to contact his guardian immediately if anything strange happened and be on guard. Neither Sirius or Remus had any further advice, however.

For the remaining few days of the holidays, the trio did some research in the Black family library. Since the Blacks had been into the Dark Arts, there was a book similiar to the one Mari had found, only in English. It listed forbidden practices, including the one to create soul objects, which they discovered were properly called Horcruxes. The book also said that they didn't have to be objects, for centuries ago, one wizard had used his familiar, a crup, to create a Horcrux. That meant beasts, and probably beings too, could be Horcruxes.

When Mari read this, she looked thoughtfully at James, or rather at his forehead, and then made a note in Japanese. Kyle gasped, annd exchanged a significant look with her. When James asked what was the matter, the two just exchanged looks again. After a moment, Kyle replied, "We just wondered if maybe Riddle created an animal Horcrux."

Finally it was time to return to Hogwarts. During the ride, James told the rest of Unity about his dream and how his scar had hurt after he'd woken up. They all looked shocked or horrified, except for Luna, and vowed that they would stick by him and make sure nothing happened to him. After that, they further discussed the events following the World Cup.

When they arrived at Hogwarts, the weather was quite unpleasant, and James felt sorry for the first years, who would have to cross the lake in such bad conditions. Inside wasn't much better, for Peeves was throwing water ballons, and didn't stop until Professor McGonagall appeared and sent him away.

The Sorting went well, with Colin's brother Dennis getting into Gryffindor. Dennis looked postively delighted as he scurried to the Gryffindor table and took a seat next to his older brother.

After the feast, Dumbledore stood up to make announcements. He hadn't gotten very far when the door to the Great Hall opened and someone came in. This person had a on cloak, was missing a leg that was replaced with a wooden one, and instead of having two regular eyes, had one normal eye and a magical spinning one. "That's not Mad-Eye Moody?" James whispered to himself. Sirius had told him about the famous ex-Auror, and Tonks had mentioned doing some training with Moody.

Professor Dumbledore did indeed introduce the man as Moody, and explained that he was the new Defence Against Dark Arts teacher. As Moody sat down, inspected a plate of sausages, and then started eating, Dumbledore continued with his announcements, which included Quidditch being cancelled that year due to the Triwizard Tournament being reinstated as the Quartet Quest this year. Everyone was excited to hear that, but the excitement soon turned to anger and disappointment when they heard that it would only be open to seventh years and those sixth years that were of age when the Quest started. The Weasley twins, in fact, were quite vocal about their anger at this.

Finally everyone was dismissed for bed and James followed the rest of the Hufflepuffs to their common room.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Happy holidays and Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noël/Feliz Navidad/Buon Natale/Frohe Weihnachten/Sheng Dan Kuai Le (Chinese) to all my readers! Enjoy this chapter.

The next evening, the Japanese exchange students arrived. The ones that had been at Hogwarts the previous year went to the respective house tables that they had been Sorted in, while the new ones got Sorted. True to their word, the ones in Unity had returned, and though it was muted, they were quite glad to be back. There was a new group of third years, who were invited to join Unity by the other third years, and all eight of them accepted. One was Tami's younger brother, Daisuki, and the another was Naomi, who was Yoshiro's younger brother.

The first week of classes went well, and Defence Against Dark Arts with Mad-Eye Moody was well, unique. Sirius and Tonks had said that Moody had gotten rather paranoid since the end of the war against Voldemort, which was made apparent during the first lesson. He barked "Constant Vigilence!" several times, and informed the class that they would be learning how to defend themselves against curses and the like, since they were behind on that, in his opinion. His magical eye could also see through things, apparently, for he saw Parvati showing Lavender something under their desk. James couldn't help wondering if Moody's eye could also see through clothes, but as soon as he thought that, he was disgusted with himself and quickly focused his attention on the lesson, which was about the three Unforgiveable Curses.

James named the Imperious Curse, Neville the Cruciatus Curse, and Hermione the Killing Curse. Moody then proceeded to demonstrate all three Unforgiveable Curses on spiders. Unlike some of his classmates, James wasn't amused by the demonstration of the Imperious Curse. Of course, all amusement ended when Moody growled, "Think it's funny, do you? You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

When the Cruciatus Curse was demonstrated, James winced, and all of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw members of Unity looked in concern at Neville, whose parents had been tortured into insanity by that curse. Neville was pale and his hands were clenched, and when James saw that, he lept to his feet, intending to do something about it. However, Hermione beat him to it. Not even bothering to raise her hand, she shouted, "Stop it, Professor! Can't you see that it's disturbing Neville and the rest of us?"

Professor Moody lowered his wand and looked at Hermione with his good eye while his magical one focused on Neville. Kevin Entwhistle of Ravenclaw and Sophia Roper and Lloyd Runcorn of Gryffindor, the only three people not in Unity in the class, exchanged puzzled looks, as they didn't know why Neville had reacted like that.

After a minute, Moody took out the third spider to demonstrate the Killing Curse. He raised his wand, and James felt a sudden thrill of foreboding.

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody roared.

There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air - instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the students stifled cries.

Moody swept the dead spider off the desk onto the floor. "Not nice," he said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and that's Harry Potter, wherever he is now."

James stared at the blackboard, feeling numb. So that was how his parents had died… exactly like that spider. Had they been unblemished and unmarked too? Had they simply seen the flash of green light and heard the rush of speeding death, before life was wiped from their bodies?

James had been picturing his parents' deaths over and over again for five years now, ever since he'd found out they had been murdered, ever since he'd found out what had happened that night: Wormtail had betrayed his parents' whereabouts to Voldemort, who had come to find them at their cottage. How Voldemort had killed Harry's father first. How James Potter had tried to hold him off, while he shouted at his wife to take Harry and run… Voldemort had advanced on Lily Potter, told her to move aside so that he could kill Harry… how she had begged him to kill her instead, refused to stop shielding her son… and so Voldemort had murdered her too, before turning his wand on Harry.

James knew these details because he had heard his parents' voices when he had fought the dementors last year - for that was the terrible power of the dementors: to force their victims to relive the worst memories of their lives, and drown, powerless, in their own despair. Anthony, who was sitting next to him, patted him on the back, and Keiko, who was sitting on his other side, gave him a sympathetic look. However, none of these helped him any, and he knew that only Mari and Kyle would be able to help him deal with this.

For the rest of the lesson, James could only think about the Killing Curse and his parents' murders, and instead of taking proper notes on the Unforgiveable Curses, just moved his quill around on the parchment, writing random letters to make it look like he was taking notes. When class ended, he focused enough to remember that Neville's situation was worse. Yes, his parents had been murdered and he didn't really remember them, but he still managed to have a pretty great childhood. Neville, on the other hand, was faced with seeing his parents tortured into insanity with practically no hope of recovery, and just because they were alive didn't make things any better.

That more than anything else shook James out of his sadness, and after a pointed look, the rest of Unity joined him in trying to comfort Neville. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin members, plus the third-years, were quite shocked to find out what had happened in the Defence lesson, and quickly pitched in making Neville feel better. James refused to let the others try to comfort him, pointing out that it was worse to have your parents alive but insane than to have them dead and not knowing them at all.

After dinner, however, Kyle and Mari took him aside. "Are you sure you're all right, James?" asked Mari in concern. "I know Neville's situation is worse and all, but seeing that spider killed with the Killing Curse did disturb you and make you think about what happened to your parents until you remembered about Neville."

"I'm fine, Mari," said James firmly. "My childhood turned out pretty well, and I know perfectly well that things could be worse. Imagine what my life would be like if my relatives had kept me. Or if they had decided to abandon me on some random street and not at Sunnybrook Orphanage. Yes, I do wish my parents could have raised me, but it's not the end of the world."

Kyle sighed. "While it's noble of you to think about others and not wallow in self-pity, you can't just act like this either. I was upset for weeks after my real parents died, until I finally accepted that they had gone to Heaven to be with God and couldn't come back. And becoming friends with you helped also, James."

James stood up, looking annoyed. "Enough. I realize that the two of you are orphans like me, but neither of your parents were murdered. Your parents died because of a stupid drunk driver, Kyle, and your parents just became really sick and had no chance of recovery, Mari. Now, I am going to talk to Luna. She's lost a parent, and won't be like you guys."

Mari and Kyle exchanged looks. "Go ahead," said Mari. "Luna's the best person to help you besides us, and you're one of the few people in Unity that doesn't roll their eyes or privately think _here she goes again_ or something similiar when she mentions one of her theories."

James nodded, for what Mari said was true. Everyone in Unity liked Luna immensely and thought that she a very nice and wise person, but most of them also privately thought her odd. They ignored this mostly, since she was a wonderful person, but whenever she mentioned one of her theories, Bianca, Mari, Colin, Ginny, Kyle, James, and the Japanese members were the only ones that didn't roll their eyes or do some other small gesture that showed their mild exasperation or annoyance with it.

Luna was a great help. Though she had been upset when her mother had died due to one of her magical experiments going awry, Luna had also known that they would see each other again. She pointed this out to James, who looked thoughtful. While he wasn't religious, he did believe in God and that when people died, they would go to some sort of afterlife, or possibly be reincarnated like the Patil twins and other Hindus believed. Since he wasn't Hindu or of any other religion that believed in reincarnation, he believed that he would join his parents in the afterlife, unless he chose to return as a ghost, which he didn't think was at all likely. And he also believed that his parents were watching over him from Heaven or wherever good people went to in the afterlife.

After some more conversation with Luna, James felt better, for he hadn't exactly told his friends the truth earlier when he'd said he was fine. Physically he was well, but emotionally he hadn't been, though it had been better than how he'd felt during Moody's lesson. James thanked Luna for her help, and as he went to bed, he reflected that despite of her unique ways, she really was a great person and if Mari and Kyle weren't already his best friends, she would have become his.


	6. Chapter 6

During the next Defence class, Professor Moody announced that he would do the Imperius Curse on them so that they could get an idea of what it was like. When Hermione protested, Moody simply said that Dumbledore had allowed it, and that if she didn't like it she was free to leave the room. Of course, Hermione didn't, and so the lesson progressed. Nobody else stood a chance, as they did things that Moody asked of them that they normally wouldn't do in real life, like sing the national anthem, act like a squirrel, or twirl around like a ballerina. James was the only one that showed any resistance, for Moody's 'voice' in his head had to ask him to jump on the desk three times before he did so. Moody looked impressed and insisted on putting James through the Imperius Curse four more times until he could throw it off completely.

In the Hufflepuff/Slytherin fourth-year class, Kyle and Mari were both able to throw off the Imperius Curse. In Kyle's case, it took him ten times before he was able to completely resist it, while Mari threw it off the second time it was cast, and then had to undergo it a third time just to make sure she was successful. In the third-year Defence classes, Luna was the only one that could successfully block the Imperius Curse, and that happened on the first time Moody cast it on her. Apparently her nature had something to do with it. Everyone in Unity was impressed with her, and for the next few days, nobody rolled their eyes or something along those lines when she happened to make one of her strange comments.

During Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid had gotten over his scare with Buckbeak last year, and had the class working with Blast-Ended Skwerts. Nobody could really tell what creatures they were supposed to be, though Mari thought that they looked a little like a cross between fire crabs and manticores.

Mari had a run-in with Malfoy. When she decided to pretend he didn't exist and turned away from him, he snapped, "You can't just ignore me!" and drew his wand. Before he could do anything however, Moody appeared on the scene.

After shouting at Malfoy, Moody turned him into a ferret and started bouncing him up and down, to the amusement of all the members of Unity that were present and several other students. Professor McGonagall showed up at this point and swiftly put an end to it when she realized what was going on. She transfigured Malfoy back to his normal self and explained to Moody that Transfiguration was never used as a punishment. Only detentions were handed out or you spoke with the offender's Head of House. Moody then took Malfoy away to speak with Snape.

All the fourth years noticed a definite increase in the amount of work they were required to do this term. Professor McGonagall explained why, when the class gave a particularly loud groan at the amount of Transfiguration homework she had assigned.

"You are now entering a most important phase of your magical education!" she told them, her eyes glinting dangerously behind her square spectacles. "Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are drawing closer —"

"But we don't take our O.W.L.s until fifth year, Professor!" protested James.

"Maybe not, Lydell-Black, but believe me, you need all the preparation you can get! Most of the class can turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion, but your pincushion still curls up in fright whenever someone approaches it with a pin!" James flushed, and wished he had inherited his father's talent in Transfiguration.

Meanwhile Professor Binns, the ghost who taught History of Magic, had them writing weekly essays on the goblin rebellions of the eighteenth century. Professor Snape was forcing them to research antidotes. They took this one seriously, as he had hinted that he might be poisoning one of them before Christmas to see if their antidote worked. Professor Flitwick had asked them to read three extra books in preparation for their lesson on Summoning Charms. Even Hagrid was adding to their workload. The Blast-Ended Skrewts were growing at a remarkable pace given that nobody had yet discovered what they ate. Hagrid was delighted, and as part of their "project," suggested that they come down to his hut on alternate evenings to observe the skrewts and make notes on their extraordinary behavior.

"I will not," said Draco Malfoy flatly when Hagrid had proposed this with the air of Father Christmas pulling an extra-large toy out of his sack. "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."

Hagrid's smile faded off his face.

"Yeh'll do wha' yer told," he growled, "or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book… I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy." The Gryffindors and Slytherins (except for Pansy) stifled chuckles, and later told the rest of Unity what happened.

On the way to lunch, James found that he couldn't enter the Great Hall due to all the students crowding the entrance hall, all milling around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase. Fortunately Stuart was nearby, so he stood on tiptoe to see over the heads in front of them and read the sign aloud to James and his housemates.

QUARTET QUEST

THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY. STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST.

"That's just a week away!" exclaimed Stella. She exchanged a look with Stuart, for after Dumbledore had announced the Quest, she had decided to enter as well. If one of them did get selected as the champion for Hogwarts and won, they would split the money between them. Though they knew that Sirius was perfectly willing to provide for them, they also had an independent streak and intended to make their way in the world on their own with as little outside help as possible.

James grinned up at his siblings, hoping that one of them would get selected. That was when Ernie emerged from the crowd, Justin and Susan next to him. "Only a week away!" said Ernie, his eyes gleaming. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him…"

"Cedric?" asked Anthony blankly.

"Cedric Diggory, the Seeker and Captain of the Hufflepuff team," explained Susan. "He wants to enter the Quest. I wonder what we're going to do. We still have house loyalty, but we're more loyal to Unity and Hogwarts in general."

Justin frowned slightly. "Good point. I would like Cedric to be champion, but I also would like either Stella or Stuart to get picked. Especially as I know them better than I do Cedric."

"Well, whomever gets selected to be Hogwarts' champion will have our support," said Lisa Turpin philosophically.

The appearance of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where James went: the Triwizard Tournament.

Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves. Since the Japanese students had to learn some things about other wizarding schools and cultures, their friends from Hogwarts peppered them with questions. James noticed too that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Argus Filch, the caretaker, was behaving so ferociously to any students who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first-year girls into hysterics. Other members of the staff seemed oddly tense too.

When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffiindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

The Japanese members of Unity reported that their Deputy Headmaster had returned to Tokyo to run the school and that Headmistress Nakagawa had arrived that morning to take his place, since the Heads of the partcipating schools always were on the panel of judges for the Tournament. Minister Kishi was coming that evening, since it was the first time Japan was participating, and she wanted to be present for the start of it. There was also the fact that two of her cousins were planning to enter (no close relation to Mari since she was related to Minister Kishi on her father's side and they were related to the minister on her mother's side).

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Unity hurried to their respective common rooms, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines. After a while, Dumbledore announced that the delegation from Beauxbatons was arriving.

"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

"There!" yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

Something large, was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely.

"Don't be stupid… it's a flying house!" said Dennis Creevey.

Dennis's guess was closer… As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed - then, with an almighty crash that made Neville jump backward onto a Slytherin fifth year's foot, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes.

James just had time to see that the door of the carriage bore a coat of arms (two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars) before it opened. A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then James saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage - a shoe the size of a child's sled - followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman he had ever seen in his life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped.

James had only ever seen one person as large as this woman in his life, and that was Hagrid; he doubted whether there was an inch difference in their heights. Yet somehow - maybe simply because he was used to Hagrid - this woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large. As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman.

Her face relaxed into a gracious smile and she walked forward toward Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.

James, whose attention had been focused completely upon Madame Maxime, now noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads.

From what James could see of them (they were standing in Madame Maxime's enormous shadow), they were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.

"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime. "But ze 'orses -"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other - er - charges."

"Skrewts," Terry muttered to James, grinning.

"My steeds require - er - forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job.

"Hagrid can handle anything."

"Zey are very strong…"

"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job," said Dumbledore, smiling.

"Very well," said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly. "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

"It will be attended to," said Dumbledore, also bowing.

"Come," said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky.

For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. Then there was a very quiet pop and Minister Kishi and another woman with red hair but otherwise looked Japanese appeared in their midst, holding a book between them. It was obviously their Portkey. Both were dressed in rather pretty kimonos.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore," said Minister Kishi with a bow. "This is my closest advisor, Ume Fujiwara. Her position is, well, I believe the English translation or equivalent would be Senior Undersecretary to the Minister."

"Good evening, Minister Kishi and Secretary Fujiwara," said Professor Dumbledore, returning the bow. "The Beauxbatons delegation arrived a few minutes ago and we're still waiting for Durmstrang. Would you like to go inside or wait here for Durmstrang?"

"We'll wait, Professor Dumbledore," said Secretary Fujiwara, after looking at Minister Kishi.

There was more silence after that, until - "Can you hear something?" said Morag suddenly. James listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed.

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"

From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water - except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks - and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor… What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool… and then James saw the rigging…

"It's a mast!" he exclaimed.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes.

Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank.

People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. All of them, Harry noticed, seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle… but then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light streaming from the entrance hall, he saw that their bulk was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair.

"Dumbledore!" he called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied. Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own, and then turned and bowed to Minister Kishi and Secretary Fujiwara.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth were rather yellow, and James noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. "How good it is to be here, how good… Viktor, come along, into the warmth… you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…"

Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, James caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He gave a gasp, for he recognized the profile. Next to him, Padma gasped, "That's Viktor Krum!"


	7. Chapter 7

There were many excited whispers as the Hogwarts students filed back up the steps behind the party from Durmstrang. Several sixth-year girls were frantically searching their pockets as they walked - "Oh I don't believe it, I haven't got a single quill on me -"

"D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?"

James rolled his eyes and was profoundly grateful that he had never revealed himself as Harry Potter to the entire wizarding world if people would treat him like that. The last thing he wanted was girls fawning over him because he was famous. None of the girls in Unity treated him like that, and if he did work up the courage to ask one of them out, they would say yes because they liked him and not because he was the Boy-Who-Lived.

In the Great Hall, the house tables had been restored, to Unity's disappointment, since it meant that they couldn't sit together as usual. The Beauxbatons delegation chose seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads.

Morag frowned and muttered, "It's not that cold. They should have brought cloaks if they felt chilly."

Keiko leaned over and hissed, "Morag, France's climate is different from England's. It's warmer there than it is Scotland at this time of year."

Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students sat down at the Slytherin table, to Ron's delight. James sighed, but it wasn't as if Ron fawned over every famous person in the world. Krum was an excellent Seeker after all, especially as he played for the Bulgaria national team when he was still in school. And James knew that famous Quidditch players actually did something to earn their fame, whereas in his case, he didn't remember exactly what had happened, and it was his mother's sacrifice that made it possible for Voldemort to be defeated.

Next to him, Kevin Entwhistle commented, "Well, the Durmstrang students look happier than the -," and he nodded over at the Beauxbatons students. James had to agree, as the Durmstrang students were pulling off their heavy furs and looking up at the starry black ceiling with expressions of interest; a couple of them were picking up the golden plates and goblets and examining them, apparently impressed.

Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his moldy old tailcoat in honor of the occasion. James was surprised to see that he added six chairs, three on either side of Dumbledore's. "But there are only four extra people," James said. "Why's Filch putting out six chairs, who else is coming?"

Stella leaned over from a couple of seats over and answered, "Besides the Heads of the schools, there's two more judges, James."

When all the students had entered the Hall and settled down at their House tables, the staff entered, filing up to the top table and taking their seats. Last in line were Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. When their headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, however, and did not resume their seats until Madame Maxime had sat down on Dumbledore's left-hand side. Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh. James saw Hermione frown over at the Gryffindor table and whisper something to Sally-Ann Perks, who nodded in agreement.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat down, and James saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation.

The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than James had ever seen, and not all of foreign dishes were Japanese like at previous meals.

The Great Hall seemed somehow much more crowded than usual, even though there were barely twenty additional students there; perhaps it was because their differently colored uniforms stood out so clearly against the black of the Hogwarts' robes. Even the Japanese exchange students wore black and not midnight blue in order to better blend in with the Hogwarts students. Now that they had removed their furs, the Durmstrang students were revealed to be wearing robes of a deep bloodred.

After awhile, the girl who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech got up and headed to the Gryffindor table. She had removed her muffler by now, and a long sheet of silvery blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth. Even though she looked stunning, James couldn't help thinking that there were blondes he knew in Unity that might not look as beautiful, but had far better personalities and were stunning on the inside.

The girl returned a couple of minutes later with a dish of some sort of shellfish stew. James glanced at the staff table and saw that the two remaining seats had been filled. Ludo Bagman was sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch was next to Madam Maxime, who was deep in conversation with Minister Kishi. From the way their lips moved, it seemed that they were conversing in French, and James remembered that Minister Kishi had mentioned being fluent in French and German in addition to English back at the World Cup.

"They're not the two other judges, are they?" James asked in surprise.

Michael looked up at the staff table and answered, "I guess so. They were the ones that organised the Quartet Quest, after all."

When the second course arrived, they noticed a number of unfamiliar desserts too. James tried one, but after clearing his plate, his stomach felt just a touch queasy, as if he had eaten too much or had something that was too rich for him. He didn't say anything, however.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. James felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming. At the Gryffindor table, Fred and George were leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket —"

"The what?" James muttered. On his other side, Michael shrugged.

"- just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" - there was a smattering of polite applause - "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Remembering him in his neat suit at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry thought he looked strange in wizard's robes. His toothbrush mustache and severe parting looked very odd next to Dumbledore's long white hair and beard.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, Headmistress Watamo, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen.

Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students; Dennis Creevey actually stood on his chair to see it properly, but, being so tiny, his head hardly rose above anyone else's.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways… their magical prowess - their daring - their powers of deduction - and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing.

"As you know, four champions will compete in the quest," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the four it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. Oh yes, and a spell has been placed on the goblet so that it will recognize four schools that will be participating and not the usual three.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

James got up and found the queasy feeling in his stomach had gotten stronger. In fact, he felt rather awful, and rather than follow the other Ravenclaws to their common room, asked Stella to take him to the Hospital Wing, since he had gotten over his dislike of seeing doctors or healers. Madam Pomfrey fussed over him for a few minutes, giving him a potion that made him feel better, and insisted that he spend the night in the Hospital Wing. He would have tried to protest, but Stella gave him a look and said, "I think you had best do as she says. I've been having this feeling all day that something is going to happen that I won't like at all, and it could involve you. I'll tell the other Ravenclaws where you are."

The next morning, James woke up early and after Madam Pomfrey looked him over, was allowed to leave. As he was walking out, he was startled to see a sixth-year Ravenclaw girl, sporting a long white beard, come in. Before he could ask her what had happened, Madam Pomfrey bustled over and shooed him outside. He shrugged and then hurried downstairs for breakfast, where he saw that most of the rest of the school had also risen much earlier than they usually did on weekends. In the entrance hall, he saw about twenty people milling around it, some of them eating toast, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" he asked.

Mandy Brocklehurst turned and answered, "All the Durmstrang students have, and some from the Tokyo school, but not anyone from Hogwarts yet. Well, that I've seen, anyway."

Someone laughed behind James. Turning, he saw Fred, George, and their friend Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase, all three of them looking extremely excited. "What are you guys up to?" he asked.

"We've taken an Aging Potion," responded Fred.

"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione warningly. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

Fred, George, and Lee ignored her.

"Ready?" Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then - I'll go first -"

Harry watched, fascinated, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley - Hogwarts. Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.

For a split second James thought it had worked - George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred - but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.

The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards. James now understood what must have happened to his housemate.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was howling with laughter. Stella, who was shaking her head, and Stuart, who looked amused, came over, slips of parchment in their hands. "I can't believe that they thought they could fool Dumbledore's Age Line with an Aging Potion," said Stella. She walked over to the goblet and entered her name, followed by Stuart seconds later. There was cheering from the other Hogwarts students.

James was about to go inside the Great Hall when there was more cheering. He turned to see Angelina Johnson, a Chaser on the Gryffindor team, put in her name. He joined in the applause, though he still hoped that either Stuart or Stella would get picked as the Hogwarts Champion.

After eating, Unity left the Great Hall to see that the Beauxbatons students were lined up, submitting their names in the goblet one by one. Ron and several of the other boys looked interestedly at the blonde girl, whom James was starting to suspect was part Veela.

For the rest of the day, Unity visited Hagrid in groups of ten for forty minutes each and spent the rest of the time discussing the Quest. They all agreed that Krum would likely be picked as the champion for Durmstrang, but nobody was sure who would be selected for the other three schools.

As for Hagrid, he had made an attempt to dress up, to Unity's utter amazement. He was wearing his best (and very horrible) hairy brown suit, plus a checked yellow-and-orange tie. This wasn't the worst of it, though; he had evidently tried to tame his hair, using large quantities of what appeared to be axle grease. It was now slicked down into two bunches - perhaps he had tried a ponytail like Bill's, but found he had too much hair. The look didn't really suit Hagrid at all. Nobody commented on his appearance in front of him, but all exchanged looks.

It became clear why Hagrid was dressing up when Unity was about to return to the castle and saw him approach Madam Maxime and start talking to her with a rapt, misty-eyed expression on his face.

"He fancies her!" said Ron incredulously. "Well, if they end up having children, they'll be setting a world record - bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton."

"Ronald!" exclaimed Daphne in mild reproof. "They've only just met! It's too soon to be talking about stuff like that."

When they entered the candlelit Great Hall it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table. Fred and George - clean-shaven again - seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well.

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, James didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as he would have normally. Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, James simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champions.

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Headmistress Watamo looked only mildly interested, since Japanese people tended not to show emotions that much. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated the door behind the staff table - "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness.

The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting… A few people kept checking their watches…

The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

James saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

The girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Lisa Turpin said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. "Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement, James thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.

When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, and the goblet turned red a third time. A third piece of parchment shot out of it.

"The champion for the Tokyo Academy of Magic," said Dumbledore, "is Hiroshi Satou!"

The Japanese exchange students clapped, while James looked at Keiko in surprise, as she hadn't mentioned that her older brother was entering.

Hiroshi got up and when he too vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next… And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the fourth piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Unity and a good many other students joined in, because of the whole inter-house cooperation. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our four champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —"

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.

Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out - "James Lydell-Black." Stella groaned and buried her face in her hands, while James just sat there, frozen in shock.


	8. Chapter 8

There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at James as he sat, frozen, in his seat. Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly. James turned to Anthony and Lisa; beyond them, he saw the long Ravenclaw table all watching him, openmouthed, except for Stella and Stuart. Stella's face was still buried in her hands, while Stuart jumped to his feet and and shouted, "That's not possible!"

"Mr. Lydell, calm down!" exclaimed Professor Flitwick, who was about to join Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore.

"I won't calm down!" snapped Stuart. "Someone put James's name in the goblet, and I am going to find out who and why!"

A seventh-year Hufflepuff said, "Your brother probably entered-"

"He did not!" interrupted Stuart angrily. "James was in the Hospital Wing all last night, and he wouldn't be able to sneak out and try to get past the Age Line without Madam Pomfrey catching him. And as for today, he was with his group of friends all day!"

"Mr. Lydell, five points from Ravenclaw for your outburst," said Professor Flitwick firmly. "Now please sit down. We are going to get to the bottom of this. James Lydell-Black, please come up here."

James couldn't move at all until Mari left the Slytherin table and pulled him to his feet. She steered him over to the staff table, where Dumbledore, no longer smiling, directed him to go the next room. With Mari steering him, James went through the door out of the Great Hall and found himself in a smaller room, lined with paintings of witches and wizards. A handsome fire was roaring in the fireplace opposite him. The faces in the portraits turned to look at him as he entered. He saw a wizened witch flit out of the frame of her picture and into the one next to it, which contained a wizard with a walrus mustache. The wizened witch started whispering in his ear.

Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, Hiroshi Satou, and Fleur Delacour were grouped around the fire. They looked strangely impressive, silhouetted against the flames. Krum, hunched up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two. Cedric was standing with his hands behind his back, staring into the fire. Hiroshi, the shortest of the group, but still two inches taller than James, was pacing the room. Fleur Delacour looked around when James and Mari walked in and threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair.

"What is it?" she said. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

She thought they had come to deliver a message. James didn't know how to explain what had just happened. He just stood there, looking at the four champions. It struck him how very tall all of them were, except for Hiroshi, who was still taller than him. Mari gave James an encouraging squeeze on the arm and then left the room.

There was a sound of scurrying feet behind him, and Ludo Bagman entered the room. He took James by the arm and led him forward.

"Extraordinary!" he muttered, squeezing James's arm. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen… lady," he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. "May I introduce - incredible though it may seem - the fifth Triwizard champion?"

Viktor Krum straightened up. His surly face darkened as he surveyed James. Cedric looked nonplussed. He looked from Bagman to James and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said. Hiroshi managed to keep his face expressionless, but for one brief second, there was a flicker of shock in his eyes. Fleur Delacour, however, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. "No, no, not at all! James Lydell-Black's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

Krum's thick eyebrows contracted slightly. Cedric was still looking politely bewildered. Fleur frowned.

"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake," she said contemptuously to Bagman. "E cannot compete. 'E is too young."

"Well… it is amazing," said Bagman, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at James. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as his name's come out of the goblet… I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage… It's down in the rules, you're obliged… James will just have to do the best he —"

The door behind them opened again, and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Headmistress Watoma, Minister Kishi, Secretary Fujiwara, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Snape. James heard the buzzing of the hundreds of students on the other side of the wall, before Professor McGonagall closed the door.

"Madame Maxime!" said Fleur at once, striding over to her headmistress. "Zey are saying zat zis little boy is to compete also!"

Somewhere under James's numb disbelief he felt a ripple of anger. Little boy? Madame Maxime had drawn herself up to her full, and considerable, height. The top of her handsome head brushed the candle-filled chandelier, and her gigantic black-satin bosom swelled.

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" she said imperiously.

"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore," said Professor Karkaroff. He was wearing a steely smile, and his blue eyes were like chips of ice. "Two Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions – or have I not read the rules carefully enough?"

He gave a short and nasty laugh.

"_C'est impossible_," said Madame Maxime, whose enormous hand with its many superb opals was resting upon Fleur's shoulder. "Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most injust."

"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, his steely smile still in place, though his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

Minister Kishi cleared her throat. "There obviously is something suspicious going on. I've met James before when he visited Japan two summers ago, and he does not strike me as the sort of person to do something like this. Furthermore, his actions and whereabouts have been accounted for since the previous evening, so it is quite ridiculous to think that he could have entered his name. Therefore, someone else had to have entered James's name in the goblet, and we will find out who and why."

Headmistress Watoma nodded. "I agree with Minster Kishi," she said in English that was more accented than the Minister's. "Something strange is going on, and it is through no - what is the word - yes, fault of James."

"And how would you know that?" demanded Professor Karkaroff.

"I am part kitsune," snapped Minister Kishi. "A kitsune is a magical being in Japan that can take human or fox form, and anyone who is one, or has at least a quarter kitsune blood, is a good judge of character and can often tell when someone is lying."

"Well, somezing 'as to be done about zis," said Madame Maxime.

"Mr. Crouch… Mr. Bagman," said Karkaroff, his voice unctuous once more, "you are our - er - objective judges. Surely you will agree that this is most irregular?"

Bagman wiped his round, boyish face with his handkerchief and looked at Mr. Crouch, who was standing outside the circle of the firelight, his face half hidden in shadow. He looked slightly eerie, the half darkness making him look much older, giving him an almost skull-like appearance. When he spoke, however, it was in his usual curt voice.

"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front," said Bagman, beaming and turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.

"I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students," said Karkaroff. He had dropped his unctuous tone and his smile now. His face wore a very ugly look indeed. "You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair, Dumbledore."

"But Karkaroff, it doesn't work like that," said Bagman. "The Goblet of Fire's just gone out - it won't reignite until the start of the next tournament -"

"- in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing!" exploded Karkaroff. "After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff," growled a voice from near the door. "You can't leave your champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?"

Moody had just entered the room. He limped toward the fire, and with every right step he took, there was a loud clunk.

"Convenient?" said Karkaroff. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody." James could tell he was trying to sound disdainful, as though what Moody was saying was barely worth his notice, but his hands gave him away; they had balled themselves into fists.

"Don't you?" said Moody quietly. "It's very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Lydell-Black's name in that goblet knowing he'd have to compete if it came out."

"Evidently, someone 'oo wished to give 'Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!" said Madame Maxime.

"I quite agree, Madame Maxime," said Karkaroff, bowing to her. "I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards -"

"If anyone's got reason to complain, it's Lydell-Black," growled Moody, "but… funny thing… I don't hear him saying a word…"

"Why should 'e complain?" burst out Fleur Delacour, stamping her foot. "E 'as ze chance to compete, 'asn't 'e? We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money - zis is a chance many would die for!"

"Maybe someone's hoping Lydell-Black is going to die for it," said Moody, with the merest trace of a growl.

An extremely tense silence followed these words. Minister Kishi shot Moody a suspicious Bagman, who was looking very anxious indeed, bounced nervously up and down on his feet and said, "Moody, old man… what a thing to say!"

"We all know Professor Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn't discovered six plots to murder him before lunchtime," said Karkaroff loudly. "Apparently he is now teaching his students to fear assassination too. An odd quality in a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dumbledore, but no doubt you had your reasons.

"Imagining things, am I?" growled Moody. "Seeing things, eh? It was a skilled witch or wizard who put the boy's name in that goblet…"

"Ah, what evidence is zere of zat?" said Madame Maxime, throwing up her huge hands.

"Because they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object!" said Moody. "It would have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that goblet into forgetting that four schools were competing in the tournament… I'm guessing they submitted Lydell-Black's name under a fifth school, to make sure he was the only one in his category…"

Minister Kishi shot him another look, and then turned and whispered to Secretary Fujiwara, who looked at Moody and frowned.

"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody," said Karkaroff coldly, "and a very ingenious theory it is - though of course, I heard you recently got it into your head that one of your birthday presents contained a cunningly disguised basilisk egg, and smashed it to pieces before realizing it was a carriage clock. So you'll understand if we don't take you entirely seriously…"

"There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage," Moody retorted in a menacing voice. "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff - as you ought to remember…"

"Alastor!" said Dumbledore warningly. Moody fell silent, though still surveying Karkaroff with satisfaction - Karkaroff's face was burning.

"How this situation arose, we do not know," said Dumbledore, speaking to everyone gathered in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and James have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will do…

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr -"

"My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it."

Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not speak, she merely glared. She wasn't the only one either. Snape looked furious, but more at the situation than any anger towards James; Karkaroff livid; Bagman, however, looked rather excited.

"Well, shall we crack on, then?" he said, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"

Mr. Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie.

"Yes," he said, "instructions. Yes… the first task…"

He moved forward into the firelight. Close up, James thought he looked ill. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and a thin, papery look about his wrinkled skin that had not been there at the Quidditch World Cup.

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told James, Hiroshi, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor, "so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard… very important.

"The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests."

Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore. "I think that's all, is it, Albus?"

"I think so," said Dumbledore, who was looking at Mr. Crouch with mild concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry," said Mr. Crouch. "It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment… I've left young Weatherby in charge… Very enthusiastic… a little overenthusiastic, if truth be told…

"You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?" said Dumbledore.

"Come on, Barty, I'm staying!" said Bagman brightly. "It's all happening at Hogwarts now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office!"

"I think not, Ludo," said Crouch with a touch of his old impatience.

"Professor Karkaroff - Madame Maxime - Headmistress Watoma- a nightcap?" said Dumbledore.

But Madame Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders and was leading her swiftly out of the room. James could hear them both talking very fast in French as they went off into the Great Hall. Karkaroff beckoned to Krum, and they, too, exited, though in silence. Headmistress Watoma politely declined, saying that she had to discuss some things with Minister Kishi and Hiroshi.

"James, Cedric, I suggest you go up to bed," said Dumbledore, smiling at both of them. "I am sure Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise."

James glanced at Cedric, who nodded, and they left together.

The Great Hall was deserted now; the candles had burned low, giving the jagged smiles of the pumpkins an eerie, flickering quality. Outside the doors, Mari and Kyle were waiting, looking solemn. "Cedric, you do believe that James didn't enter his name in the Quartet Quest?" asked Kyle urgently.

"Of course," said Cedric, looking slightly surprised. "He was with Unity all day, and in the Hospital Wing last night, so there's no way he could've entered without someone catching him."

When he had walked away, Kyle and Mari turned to James. "Unity is behind you, including the Japanese members," said Mari. "They all know that you can't have entered on your own. Anyway, we're all going to figure out what is going on, James."

"And I suspect this has something to do with that dream you had about Riddle plotting against you," said Kyle. "Now, we have to go to our common rooms. James, we'll get through this, and we'll all help you. The other Ravenclaws in Unity will talk with you, and I doubt anyone in Ravenclaw is in the mood to celebrate this."

"They were all in shock and were discussing this furiously when we were leaving the Great Hall," added Mari. "Well, good-night James, and we'll talk tomorrow."

James nodded slowly and then made his way to the Ravenclaw common room.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: My cousin, penname Kirby1234, has recently started a fic entitled _Future and Past Revealed_, in which the Marauders (minus Peter), Lily, the Golden Trio, and Ginny read the first book. She has only two chapters up so far, but what she has written is quite good, especially since she's only 13. If you're interested, please go and check out her fic.

Unity spent all of Sunday discussing James's unexpected entry in the Quartet Quest and what significance it had with Voldemort's plot against him (and his two best friends). Everyone agreed with Moody's theory about the goblet being spelled so that it thought five schools were competing and James's name was entered under it. Oddly, all the Japanese members, except for Keiko, announced that they were supporting James, since they felt a stronger loyalty to Unity than they did to their school. Keiko naturally supported her brother because her family loyalty was stronger, but she added that if Hiroshi didn't win, then she wanted James to win.

In the afternoon, an irate Sirius appeared at Hogwarts and asked Dumbledore if there was any way that James could be removed from the tournament. However, there wasn't. Minister Kishi, who wasn't returning to Japan until that evening, had a long conversation with Sirius and managed to calm him down enough so that he could focus on figuring out what to do in regards to his godson. She also arranged for the two of them to meet once a week on Saturday, at a time where it would be around lunchtime in Britain, but dinnertime in Japan. They would discuss any developments in the situation over a meal, and try to plan what to do.

Before Minister Kishi left, she sought out James and his two best friends and warned them to be careful around Moody, because she sensed that there was something suspicious about him, thought she couldn't quite put a finger on exactly what. When James pointed out that he had heard quite a bit about Moody from others that knew him, Minister Kishi frowned and then said, "Perhaps someone has a put a spell on him to make his nature seem suspicious to me, or that is someone pretending to be Moody. In any case, I want the three of you to be on your guard around him, but don't do anything that will make him think you are onto him. Headmistress Watoma and the two other teachers from the school here have also been warned to keep an eye on him."

James immediately passed on the warning to the rest of Unity. They were shocked to hear this news, but all promised to be careful when around Moody. Sirius also gave Unity a warning to be careful around Karkaroff, as he had been a Death Eater, but escaped being sent to Azkaban by giving the names of other Death Eaters that had escaped arrest.

After dinner, Hiroshi approached James and asked to speak to him in an empty classroom. Once inside the room, Hiroshi did a Silencing Charm so no noise could escape the room and then said, "Minister Kishi and Headmistress Watoma had a long talk with me last night about your situation, James. I wasn't completely sure that you hadn't entered yout name until they talked with me. And my sister had another talk with me today, confirming your whereabouts since the goblet had been unveiled. Keiko also told me that she is certain that your entry in the Quartet Quest is part of a plot against you, since you and your two best friends faced the British Dark Lord back in your first year and stopped him from returning to power. I know that there is more to this, but Keiko explained that she couldn't reveal anything more without breaking her promise to you. I won't press you for details of whatever secret you are hiding. I do want you to know that I completely support you, and would not mind if you won the Quest. You are the youngest, which gives the rest of us an unfair advantage."

"Thank you, Hiroshi," said James with a bow, as he remembered Ry telling him once that in Japan, you were supposed to be polite and respectful to those that were more than a year or two older than you. "Good luck with the Quartet Quest."

Hiroshi smiled and returned the bow, then removed the Silencing Charm and said that James could leave.

For the next week, the atmosphere at Hogwarts was different. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws normally got along rather well, but other than the ones in Unity, most Hufflepuffs were angry that James was in the Quest, taking some of the spotlight away from Cedric. Since Hufflepuff didn't exactly get a chance to shine much of the time, and hadn't done a great deal of spectacular or famous deeds ever since the Founding of Hogwarts, it was understandable. Gryffindor mostly stayed out of it, though some supported James and some supported Cedric. As for Slytherin, they were mostly neutral, though Ravenclaw was the house they got along with the best. Some, like Draco Malfoy and a few other students he influenced, decided to throw their support to Cedric, wearing badges that said "Support Cedric Diggory, the _real_ Hogwarts Champion." When the badges were pressed, the words changed to "Lydell-Black stinks."

Theo and Blaise promptly hexed Malfoy when they first saw the badges, resulting in a detention each from Snape. The two, however, felt that it was worth it. Tracey and Daphne also hexed Pansy Parkinson, but they were sneakier about it and didn't get in trouble for it. They also got hold of a stack of the badges, and with Hermione and Mari's help, changed them to say, "Support both Hogwarts Champions." Everyone in Unity, except the Japanese members, plus the second and first-year students that were in the similiar group, wore the badges. The Japanese members wore another badge that showed their support for both Hiroshi and James.

During James's weekly Potions session with Snape, the two spent the two hours not doing any brewing. Instead, James explained about the dream he had during the summer, and Unity's thoughts on it. Snape looked alarmed when he heard this, and then rolled up a sleeve and showed his forearm. The Dark Mark had been branded or tatooed on it, but it was faint. James stared at it for a moment, then asked quietly, "So you were a Death Eater once, Professor?"

Snape nodded. "I have regretted the decision ever since, and before the Dark Lord's downfall, went to Dumbledore and became a spy for him. After the Dark Lord was defeated, the Dark Marke on my arm had faded so that it was barely noticeable, but over the past month I have noticed that it has appeared to have gotten stronger and not so faint."

James flinched. "So Riddle is definitely getting stronger, especially as Wormtail's there with him, and will probably find a way to return to power by the end of the school year."

"That is likely," said Snape, looking grim.

"If Riddle returns to power, will you resume your duties as a spy on him for Dumbledore, Professor?" asked James suddenly. At Snape's nod, James continued, "Then you will have to convince Riddle that you are still a loyal Death Eater and never deserted him. The best way to do that will be to tell him that you have discovered Harry Potter's whereabouts."

Snape looked horrified now. "You want me to reveal your secret to the Dark Lord, Mr. Lydell?"

"Yes, Professor Snape," said James determinedly. "Please tell Riddle about the situation in my first year where I revealed to you who I really was and swore you to secrecy. The news will cement your status in Riddle's eyes as a loyal Death Eater, and may even make you be more favored than many of the others."

After some hesitation, Snape gave in and promised that he would do so if he had resume his duties as a spy. He then, like Sirius and Minister Kishi, warned James to be on his guard around Moody and Karkaroff, and said that he would pass along the warning to Dumbledore.

With all that was going on, James's concentration in his classes, except for Potions, slipped somewhat. He normally did well in Charms, but in the next class, he did so badly in Summoning Charms that Professor Flitwick took him aside after class to ask what was going on. Flitwick was understanding, so he didn't assign James extra homework, but did ask him to get some extra practice in it, and said it was a good idea to get Hermione's or Mari's help in it.

In Transfiguration class, only a few minutes had gone by when Colin Creevy came in and said to Professor McGonagall that he was there to fetch James, as all the Champions were needed upstairs. James was dismissed and he followed Colin upstairs, annoyed at the fact that he had to take part in a photo session for the _Daily Prophet_. They soon reached their destination and James went inside.

He was in a fairly small classroom; most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle; three of them, however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long length of velvet. Five chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to a witch James had never seen before, who was wearing magenta robes.

Viktor Krum was standing moodily in a corner as usual and not talking to anybody. Hiroshi was reading a book he had brought with him. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. Fleur looked a good deal happier than James had seen her so far; she kept throwing back her head so that her long silvery hair caught the light. A paunchy man, holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly, was watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye.

Bagman suddenly spotted James, got up quickly, and bounded forward.

"Ah, here he is! Champion number five! In you come, James, in you come… nothing to worry about, it's just the wand weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment -"

"Wand weighing?" James repeated nervously.

"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," said Bagman. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photoshoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing toward the witch in magenta robes. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet…"

"Maybe not that small, Ludo," said Rita Skeeter, her eyes on James.

Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson.

"I wonder if I could have a little word with James before we start?" she said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly at James. "The youngest champion, you know… to add a bit of color?"

"Certainly!" cried Bagman. "That is - if James has no objection?"

"Er -" said James uncertainly.

"Lovely," said Rita Skeeter, and in a second, her scarlet-taloned fingers had James's upper arm in a surprisingly strong grip, and she was steering him out of the room again and opening a nearby door.

"We don't want to be in there with all that noise," she said. "Let's see… ah, yes, this is nice and cozy."

It was a broom cupboard. James stared at her.

"Come along, dear - that's right - lovely," said Rita Skeeter again, perching herself precariously upon an upturned bucket, pushing James down onto a cardboard box, and closing the door, throwing them into darkness. "Let's see now…"

She unsnapped her crocodile-skin handbag and pulled out a handful of candles, which she lit with a wave of her wand and magicked into midair, so that they could see what they were doing.

"You won't mind, James, if I use a Quick-Quotes Quill? It leaves me free to talk to you normally…"

"A what?" asked James.

Rita Skeeter's smile widened. James counted three gold teeth. She reached again into her crocodile bag and drew out a long acid-green quill and a roll of parchment, which she stretched out between them on a crate of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover. She put the tip of the green quill into her mouth, sucked it for a moment with apparent relish, then placed it upright on the parchment, where it stood balanced on its point, quivering slightly.

"Testing… my name is Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter."

James looked down quickly at the quill. The moment Rita Skeeter had spoken, the green quill had started to scribble, skidding across the parchment:

_Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty-three, who's savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations –_

"Lovely," said Rita Skeeter, yet again, and she ripped the top piece of parchment off, crumpled it up, and stuffed it into her handbag. Now she leaned toward James and said, "So, James… what made you decide to enter the Triwizard Tournament, excuse me, Quartet Quest?"

"I didn't," snapped James. "I was in the Hospital Wing for the night after the goblet was unveiled, and there was no way I could have snuck out without being caught by Madam Pomfrey. As for the next day, I was with my friends the entire time. There would be no way for me to try to enter the Quest without them knowing."

Rita Skeeter raised a brow. "As they are your friends, I'm sure that they wouldn't say anything about your secretly entering, James."

"Well, you don't know my friends. Hermione Granger would never break the rules unless there was a good reason to, and this is not a good reason. She would immediately tell another teacher or Professor Dumbledore if I broke a rule without a good reason." That actually wasn't the truth, as Hermione would never report him to a teacher, though she would lecture him on his wrong-doing until he got annoyed by it and wished he never did it in the first place, but the reporter didn't know that. "Mariko Kishi, one of my two best friends, would do everything in her power to stop me if I had decided to enter the Quest. Besides which, my twin siblings entered the Quest and I was hoping that one of them would get picked. It never even crossed my mind to enter when I found out that only those students that were of age could do so."

Suddenly James had enough of this. Rita Skeeter clearly believed that he had entered the Quest on his own, or took that view since it would appeal to readers. He stood up and said with icy politeness, "Ms. Skeeter, I don't wish to discuss this any further with you without having my guardian or my older siblings present. Good day to you."

He reached out to open the door when it opened, revealing Professor Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore!" cried Rita Skeeter, with every appearance of delight - but James noticed that her quill and the parchment had suddenly vanished from the box of Magical Mess Remover, and Rita's clawed fingers were hastily snapping shut the clasp of her crocodile-skin bag.

"How are you?" she said, standing up and holding out one of her large, mannish hands to Dumbledore. "I hope you saw my piece over the summer about the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference?"

"Enchantingly nasty," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "I particularly enjoyed your description of me as an obsolete dingbat."

Rita Skeeter didn't look remotely abashed. "I was just making the point that some of your ideas are a little old-fashioned, Dumbledore, and that many wizards in the street -"

"I will be delighted to hear the reasoning behind the rudeness, Rita," said Dumbledore, with a courteous bow and a smile, "but I'm afraid we will have to discuss the matter later. The Weighing of the Wands is about to start, and it cannot take place if one of our champions is hidden in a broom cupboard."

Very glad to get away from Rita Skeeter, James hurried back into the room. The other champions were now sitting in chairs near the door, and he sat down quickly next to Cedric, hooking up at the velvet-covered table, where five of the six judges were now sitting - Headmistress Watoma, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Mr. Crouch, and Ludo Bagman. Rita Skeeter settled herself down in a corner; James saw her slip the parchment out of her bag again, spread it on her knee, suck the end of the Quick-Quotes Quill, and place it once more on the parchment.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" said Dumbledore, taking his place at the judges' table and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

James hooked around, and with a jolt of surprise saw an old wizard with large, pale eyes standing quietly by the window. James had met Mr. Ollivander before - he was the wand-maker from whom James had bought his own wand over three years ago in Diagon Alley.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" said Mr. Ollivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room.

Fleur Delacour swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand.

"Hmm…" he said.

He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it chose to his eyes and examined it carefully.

"Yes," he said quietly, "nine and a half inches… inflexible… rosewood… and containing… dear me…"

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," said Fleur. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

So his theory about Fleur being part veela was right after all, James thought.

"Yes," said Mr. Ollivander, "yes, I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands… however, to each his own, and if this suits you…"

Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers along the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps; then he muttered, "_Orchideous_!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order," said Mr. Ollivander, scooping up the flowers and handing them to Fleur with her wand. "Mr. Diggory, you next." Fleur glided back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" said Mr. Ollivander, with much more enthusiasm, as Cedric handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn… must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches… ash… pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition… You treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night," said Cedric, grinning.

James looked down at his own wand. He could see finger marks all over it. He gathered a fistful of robe from his knee and tried to rub it clean surreptitiously. Several gold sparks shot out of the end of it. Fleur Delacour gave him a very patronizing look, and he desisted.

Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, "Mr. Krum, if you please."

Viktor Krum got up and slouched, round-shouldered and duck-footed, toward Mr. Ollivander. He thrust out his wand and stood scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"Hmm," said Mr. Ollivander, "this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I… however…"

He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes.

"Yes… hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees… quite rigid… ten and a quarter inches…_ Avis_!"

The hornbeam wand let off a blast hike a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight.

"Good," said Mr. Ollivander, handing Krum back his wand. "Now then, Mr. Satou."

Hiroshi calmly got up and and when reached Mr. Ollivander, gave him a respectful bow before handing over his wand. Mr. Ollivander returned the bow and then examined the wand. "Hmm, nine inches, and made of - bamboo?" he asked, sounding surprised. Hiroshi nodded and Mr. Ollivander continued, "Well, I have never used bamboo before for a wand, but I suppose it suits you greatly. Let's see, very flexible, and containing... dear me..."

"A hair from my mother in her fox form," said Hiroshi. "She's a kitsune, which is a magical being in Japan that can take human or fox form. Kitsunes often donate hair from their fox form to be used for the wand cores of family members."

"I see," said Mr. Ollivander. "_Aguamenti_!" A stream of water flowed from the tip of the wand. "Very good. Which leaves… Mr. Lydell-Black."

James got to his feet and walked past Hiroshi to Mr. Ollivander. He handed over his wand.

"Aaaah, yes," said Mr. Ollivander, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."

James could remember too. He could remember it as though it had happened yesterday… It had taken forever to find a wand, with just about every wand in the store being tried. Only one wand that had a core of unicorn hair had produced a feeble spark, but still wasn't quite suitable. Then Mr. Ollivander handed him a wand that a previous customer had accidentally broken, made of holly and with a phoenix feather. That had also produced a spark, which meant that if it hadn't been broken, it would probably work perfectly for him. So Mr. Ollivander had taken the cores of both wands and made a new wand, also of holly wood. It was the first double core wand he had ever made.

When James proved to be so compatible with this wand, Mr. Ollivander had expressed surprise. "Curious," he had said, "curious," and not until James asked what was curious had Ollivander explained that the phoenix feather in James's wand had come from the same bird that had supplied the core of Riddle's.

James had never shared this piece of information with anybody, though his siblings and two best friends knew as they had been present at the time. He was very fond of his wand, and as far as he was concerned its relation to Riddle's wand was something it couldn't help - rather as he couldn't help being related to his unknown Muggle aunt and uncle. However, he really hoped that Mr. Ollivander wasn't about to tell the room about it. He had a funny feeling Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill might just explode with excitement if he did.

Mr. Ollivander spent much longer examining James's wand than anyone else's. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to James, announcing that it was still in perfect condition.

"Thank you all," said Dumbledore, standing up at the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now - or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end-"

Feeling that at last something had gone right today, James got up to leave, but the man with the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Er - yes, let's do those first," said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon James again. "And then perhaps some individual shots."

The photographs took a long time. Madame Maxime cast everyone else into shadow wherever she stood, and the photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get her into the frame; eventually she had to sit while everyone else stood around her. Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee around his finger to give it an extra curl; Krum, whom James would have thought would have been used to this sort of thing, skulked, half-hidden, at the back of the group. The photographer seemed keenest to get Fleur at the front, but Rita Skeeter kept hurrying forward and dragging James into greater prominence. Then she insisted on separate shots of all the champions. At last, they were free to go. James went down to dinner, wishing that he didn't have to go through all this.


	10. Chapter 10

Life became even worse for James within the confines of the castle, for Rita Skeeter had published her piece about the Triwizard Tournament, and it had turned out to be not so much a report on the tournament as a highly colored life story of James. Much of the front page had been given over to a picture of James; the article (continuing on pages two, six, and seven) had been all about James, the names of the Tokyo School, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang champions (misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all. The stuff that James had said about not entering the Quest had not been included in the article at all, other than a couple of lines that said he claimed to not have wanted to enter at all, but in reality had wanted to emulate his siblings.

Instead, the article said that his siblings were proud of him and that if they couldn't be part of the tournament, at least their brother was. Sirius was also quoted as being proud of his adopted son, and it was strongly hinted that Unity had known about James entering and supported him. Kevin Entwhistle had apparently also been interviewed, for he was quoted s saying that James could rarely be seen without the company of his two best friends Kyle Melling and Mariko Kishi. Rita Skeeter had then focused on Mari in the following paragraph, describing her as a stunningly pretty and very intelligent witch who was related to the ambassadors and Minister of Magic of Japan. Reading between the lines, it was clear that a relationship was being hinted at between James and Mari.

When Mari finished reading the article, she threw down the paper in disgust and then turned to James and asked, "Can I borrow Hedwig? I need to send a letter to my aunt and uncle."

"Go ahead, Mari," answered James.

The next day, both Sirius Black and Mr. and Mrs. Hirashi sued Rita Skeeter, or rather the _Daily Prophet_ for libel, and interviewing a minor without another adult present. The matter was dropped when the _Daily Prophet_ printed a retraction the day after that, put Rita Skeeter on a month's suspension, and gave the two families each a year's subscription for free.

Meanwhile, James became increasingly nervous over the first task. He had no idea what it was going to be beyond the fact that it was likely to involve a dangerous beast, since that was what most of the first tasks had been during previous Tournaments, according to his reading on the subject. Unfortunately, this wasn't much help, since there were a number of dangerous creatures, ranging from manticores and dragons to trolls and lethifolds. He could rule out probably imaginary creatures like Heliopaths and Umgubular Slashkilters, which only Luna, her father, and a few other people believed in. He could also rule out basilisks, since anyone gazing directly at their eyes would die.

The only dangerous creatures that James had any confidence against facing were trolls and lethifolds. With trolls, he knew enough spells to knock one out, and with lethifolds, he could do the Patronus Charm, which was the one spell that could combat them. Of course, lethifolds wouldn't be in the task, since not everyone could do the Patronus Charm. The other Ravenclaws spent most of their free time reading up on magical creatures that the champions might have to face, while Mari, Kyle, Hermione, and a few others researched spells that James might be able to do to combat dangerous creatures.

At the next Hogsmeade weekend, James was sitting with some of the other members of Unity at the Three Broomsticks, having some butterbeer and trying to relax. Hagrid and Moody came in partway through and when they spotted the group, headed over to them. Hagrid bent over and whispered, "James, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. An' be invisible." He then straightened and greeted the others present.

After Hagrid and Moody had left, James wondered out loud, "Why does Hagrid want me to meet him midnight?"

The others looked at him in surprise, except for Luna, who said very matter-of-factly, "Since a delivery is being made today that involves the Quartet Quest, I suppose Hagrid wants to show you what the delivery is. It will give you a better idea of what the first task is going to be, even if it is against the rules."

James blinked. "How did you know that, Luna? Never mind, you probably saw or heard something about it. But what should I do? I would like to know what I'm going to face for the first task, but I also don't want to cheat."

"I wouldn't put it past Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff to do everything to help Fleur and Krum win," pointed out Anthony logically. "Which would involve cheating. So they would no doubt do whatever they could to find out what the first task is and then tell their champions."

"But what about Cedric and my brother?" asked Keiko. "Headmistress Watoma will do what she can to help Hiroshi, but she would never do anything that could be considered cheating. Professor Dumbledore would never cheat, either, and I doubt any of the other Hogwarts teachers would as well."

James sighed. "So when I find out whatever it is that Hagrid wants to show me, I'll tell Cedric and Hiroshi. Or rather, I'll tell Cedric and you can tell your brother, Keiko. Some people might find it suspicious if they saw me talking with the Tokyo School champion, and he probably wouldn't call it cheating if the information came from you."

Keiko nodded and after awhile the group met up with the rest of Unity and returned to the castle.

That night, half an hour before midnight, James slipped on the invisibility cloak he had inherited from his father and left the Ravenclaw common room when Su opened the door so nobody outside of Unity would be suspicious if the door just appeared to open on its own. He checked the Marauder's Map to make sure that Filch nor any teachers were around and then swiftly made his way out of the castle.

The grounds were very dark. James walked down the lawn toward the lights shining in Hagrid's cabin. The inside of the enormous Beauxbatons carriage was also lit up; James could hear Madame Maxime talking inside it as he knocked on Hagrid's front door.

"You there, James?" Hagrid whispered, opening the door and looking around.

"Yeah," said James, slipping inside the cabin and pulling the cloak down off his head. "What's up?"

"Got summat ter show yeh," said Hagrid. There was an air of enormous excitement about him. He was wearing a flower that resembled an oversized artichoke in his buttonhole. It looked as though he had abandoned the use of axle grease, but he had certainly attempted to comb his hair - James could see the comb's broken teeth tangled in it.

"What is it you wanted to show me?" asked James. "Is it about the first task, like Luna told me?"

Hagrid didn't answer the question, instead saying, "Come with me, keep quiet, an' keep yerself covered with that cloak. We won' take Fang, he won' like it…"

James drew his cloak over his head as Hagrid opened the door and strode off into the night. James hurried to follow and found, to his great surprise, that Hagrid was leading him to the Beauxbatons carriage.

"Hagrid, what -?"

"Shhh!" said Hagrid, and he knocked three times on the door bearing the crossed golden wands.

Madame Maxime opened it. She was wearing a silk shawl wrapped around her massive shoulders. She smiled when she saw Hagrid.

"Ah, 'Agrid… it is time?"

"Bong-sewer," said Hagrid, beaming at her, and holding out a hand to help her down the golden steps. James blinked in confusion before realizing that Hagrid must have meant "_bon soir_", French for "good evening."

Madame Maxime closed the door behind her, Hagrid offered her his arm, and they set off around the edge of the paddock containing Madame Maxime's giant winged horses, with James, totally bewildered, running to keep up with them. Had Hagrid wanted to show him Madame Maxime? He could see her any old time he wanted… she wasn't exactly hard to miss… But it seemed that Madame Maxime was in for the same treat as James, because after a while she said playfully, "Wair is it you are taking me, 'Agrid?"

"Yeh'll enjoy this," said Hagrid gruffly, "worth seein', trust me. On'y - don' go tellin' anyone I showed yeh, right? Yeh're not s'posed ter know."

"Of course not," said Madame Maxime, fluttering her long black eyelashes.

They continued on their way, James wondering exactly what was going on. If Hagrid was showing something that had to do with the first task, why would he take Madame Maxime along? James looked down at his watch and started debating if he should just leave.

But then - when they had walked so far around the perimeter of the forest that the castle and the lake were out of sight - James heard something. Men were shouting up ahead… then came a deafening, earsplitting roar… Hagrid led Madame Maxime around a clump of trees and came to a halt. James hurried up alongside them - for a split second, he thought he was seeing bonfires, and men darting around them - and then his mouth fell open.

Dragons. Five fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing onto their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting - torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths, fifty feet above the ground on their outstretched necks. There was a silvery-blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on the ground; a smooth-scaled green one, which was writhing and stamping with all its might; a red one with an odd fringe of fine gold spikes around its face, which was shooting mushroom-shaped fire clouds into the air; a dark green one with a long glittering golden horn that was tossing its head and had smoke coming from it's nostrils, and a gigantic black one, more lizardlike than the others, which was nearest to them.

At least thirty-five wizards, seven or eight to each dragon, were attempting to control them, pulling on the chains connected to heavy leather straps around their necks and legs. Mesmerized, James looked up, high above him, and saw the eyes of the black dragon, with vertical pupils like a cat's, bulging with either fear or rage, he couldn't tell which… It was making a horrible noise, a yowling, screeching scream.

"Keep back there, Hagrid!" yelled a wizard near the fence, straining on the chain he was holding. "They can shoot fire at a range of twenty feet, you know! I've seen this Horntail do forty!"

"Is'n' it beautiful?" said Hagrid softly.

"It's no good!" yelled another wizard. "Stunning Spells, on the count of three!"

James saw each of the dragon keepers pull out his wand.

"Stupefy!" they shouted in unison, and the Stunning Spells shot into the darkness like fiery rockets, bursting in showers of stars on the dragons' scaly hides - James watched the dragon nearest to them teeter dangerously on its back legs; its jaws stretched wide in a silent howl; its nostrils were suddenly devoid of flame, though still smoking - then, very slowly, it fell. Several tons of sinewy, scaly-black dragon hit the ground with a thud that James could have sworn made the trees behind him quake.

The dragon keepers lowered their wands and walked forward to their fallen charges, each of which was the size of a small hill. They hurried to tighten the chains and fasten them securely to iron pegs, which they forced deep into the ground with their wands.

"Wan' a closer look?" Hagrid asked Madame Maxime excitedly. The pair of them moved right up to the fence, and James followed. The wizard who had warned Hagrid not to come any closer turned, and James realized who it was: Charlie Weasley.

"All right, Hagrid?" he panted, coming over to talk. "They should be okay now - we put them out with a Sleeping Draft on the way here, thought it might be better for them to wake up in the dark and the quiet - but, like you saw, they weren't happy, not happy at all -"

"What breeds you got here, Charlie?" said Hagrid, gazing at the closest dragon, the black one, with something chose to reverence. Its eyes were still just open. James could see a strip of gleaming yellow beneath its wrinkled black eyelid.

"This is a Hungarian Horntail," said Charlie. "There's a Common Welsh Green over there, the smaller one — a Swedish Short-Snout, that blue-gray — a Romanian Longhorn, the green one with the golden horn, and a Chinese Fireball, that's the red."

Charlie looked around; Madame Maxime was strolling away around the edge of the enclosure, gazing at the stunned dragons.

"I didn't know you were bringing her, Hagrid," Charlie said, frowning. "The champions aren't supposed to know what's coming - she's bound to tell her student, isn't she?"

"Jus' thought she'd like ter see 'em," shrugged Hagrid, still gazing, enraptured, at the dragons.

"Really romantic date, Hagrid," said Charlie, shaking his head.

"Five…" said Hagrid, "so it's one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do - fight 'em?"

"Just get past them, I think," said Charlie. "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why… but I tell you this, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious thing. Its back end's as dangerous as its front, look."

Charlie pointed toward the Horntail's tail, and James saw long, bronze-colored spikes protruding along it every few inches.

Five of Charlie's fellow keepers staggered up to the Horntail at that moment, carrying a clutch of huge granite-gray eggs between them in a blanket. They placed them carefully at the Horntail's side. Hagrid let out a moan of longing.

"I've got them counted, Hagrid," said Charlie sternly. Then heasked, "How's James Lydell?"

"Fine," said Hagrid. He was still gazing at the eggs.

"Just hope he's still fine after he's faced this lot," said Charlie grimly, looking out over the dragons' enclosure. "I didn't dare tell Mum what he's got to do for the first task; she's already having kittens about him…" Charlie imitated his mother's anxious voice. "'How could they let him enter that tournament, he's much too young! I thought they were all safe, I thought there was going to be an age limit!' She actually believed some of the stuff in that _Daily Prophet_ article about him until Sirius and Remus set her straight."

James had had enough. Trusting to the fact that Hagrid wouldn't miss him, with the attractions of five dragons and Madame Maxime to occupy him, he turned silently and began to walk away, back to the castle.

He didn't know whether he was glad he'd seen what was coming or not. Perhaps this way was better. The first shock was over now. Maybe if he'd seen the dragons for the first time on Tuesday, he would have passed out cold in front of the whole school… but maybe he would anyway… He was going to be armed with his wand - which, just now, felt like nothing more than a narrow strip of wood — against a fifty-foot-high, scaly, spike-ridden, fire-breathing dragon. And he had to get past it. With everyone watching. How? It wasn't as if he had focused on dragons during the research, as he and the rest of Unity hadn't thought it likely that he'd face a dragon. The only spell he knew that might be of any use was the _Aguamenti_ spell. Well, he also knew the Full Body-Bind and Stunners, but considering it had taken at least seven dragon keepers to Stun one dragon, just one person wouldn't have much effect.

James sped up, skirting the edge of the forest; he really felt the need to talk to Unity about this, or rather just Mari and Kyle for now, since he could hardly rouse the entire group — when, without warning, he ran into something very solid.

James fell backward, his glasses askew, clutching the cloak around him. A voice nearby said, "Ouch! Who's there?"

James hastily checked that the cloak was covering him and lay very still, staring up at the dark outline of the wizard he had hit. He recognized the goatee… it was Karkaroff.

"Who's there?" said Karkaroff again, very suspiciously, looking around in the darkness. James remained still and silent. After a minute or so, Karkaroff seemed to decide that he had hit some sort of animal; he was looking around at waist height, as though expecting to see a dog. Then he crept back under the cover of the trees and started to edge forward toward the place where the dragons were.

Very slowly and very carefully, James got to his feet and set off again as fast as he could without making too much noise, hurrying through the darkness back toward Hogwarts.

He had no doubt whatsoever what Karkaroff was up to. He had sneaked off his ship to try and find out what the first task was going to be. He might even have spotted Hagrid and Madame Maxime heading off around the forest together – they were hardly difficult to spot at a distance… and now all Karkaroff had to do was follow the sound of voices, and he, like Madame Maxime, would know what was in store for the champions.

When he reached the Ravenclaw common room, it took him a few minutes before he was able to concentrate enough to correctly answer the question the knocker asked. For the first time in his life, he wished he was in a different house, so that he only had to give a password to gain entry to the common room. Once inside, he saw that the Ravenclaw members were waiting up for him. Michael got up and handed James his three-way mirror, while Lisa asked, "So how did the meeting with Hagrid go?"

James sat down and called Kyle, whose face appeared in the mirror almost instantly. James then proceeded to tell the gathered Ravenclaws and Kyle what had gone on during the meeting. "_Dragons_?" sputtered Terry in shock when James was done.

"_Zhe shi sheng jing bing!_" exclaimed Su. "_Ni bu neng he yi ge long da zang! Tai-_" She broke off as she realized that she was speaking in Chinese.

James looked blankly at her, as the only Chinese he had ever learned from Su was 'ni hao', 'zai jian', and 'xie xie', which was 'hello', 'good-bye', and 'thank-you' respectively. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry, what I said was, 'This is madness. You can't fight with a dragon.' And I was about to say that it was too dangerous."

"Well, of course it is too dangerous," snapped Keiko. "The only spell that James can really do against a dragon is the one that conjures water, and that is if it tries to set him on fire. James, may I borrow your cloak? I need to do some research and figure out exactly what you and my brother will have to do to get past a dragon."

James nodded and handed over the cloak. After Keiko left, Kyle said, "You really should go to bed, James. Some rest will help calm you down. We'll figure out what to do tomorrow. I mean later today."

The other Ravenclaws voiced their agreement and so with that, James closed the connection and went up to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

When James got up Sunday morning, he was so preoccupied that he didn't realize that he was trying to put his hat on his foot instead of a sock until Terry pointed it out. When he was finally properly dressed, James went downstairs to the Great Hall, but didn't have any appetite for breakfast. He just picked at a bowl of porridge and some toast while the other Ravenclaws were telling the rest of Unity that the champions had to face a dragon each for the first task. After a few minutes, James noticed that Keiko wasn't at the table. He looked around and saw her at another table composed mainly of sixth-year Hufflepuffs, deep in conversation with her brother and Cedric Diggory.

After awhile, Keiko got up and went to the Unity table. "I told Hiroshi and Cedric about the dragons, adding that the other champions also knew, since you found out sort of by accident, James, and Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff saw the dragons and would no doubt tell Fleur and Viktor Krum. A dragon's weakest spot is its eyes, according to my research, so I think the Conjunctivitis Curse is your best chance. I wrote down the spell so you can practice it."

When breakfast was over, Unity was about to head for the Room of Requirement and help James practice the Conjunctivitis Curse when Moody limped over and said that he wished to speak with James. Once in Moody's office, James looked around and noticed that there were several Dark Detectors.

Moody pointed each Dark Detector out and then asked, "Have you thought about what you're going to do for the first task, Lydell-Black?"

James shrugged, not willing to admit that he knew that he had to face a dragon. Moody focused his magical eye and regular eye on him and continued, "Now, I don't believe in showing favoritism. So I'm just going to give you some general advice. The first one is: _Play to your strengths_."

James blinked and started thinking. What were his strengths? Well, he was very good at Quidditch and flying, and pretty good at Potions. However, it wasn't as if he could give a dragon a sleeping potion in order to get past it. For one thing, it would take a cauldronful to knock a dragon out for more than a couple of minutes, and for another, he was only allowed his wand with him. The latter also applied to flying, since he couldn't bring his Firebolt with him. "I don't quite understand, Professor," he said. "We're only allowed our wands. It's not like I can bring a potion or my broom to help me with the-"

"My second piece of general advice," said Moody loudly, interrupting him, "is to use a nice, simple spell that will enable you to get what you need."

James stared blankly before he realized what he had to do. "Thanks, Professor!" he exclaimed and hurriedly took his leave, wondering if Minister Kishi had been wrong about Moody.

At the Room of Requirement, James announced, "Change of plan. I need to learn how to the Summoning Charm properly."

"The Summoning Charm?" asked Astoria Greengrass. "How is that going to help you get past a dragon?"

"Moody gave me some general advice, like playing to my strengths. Since I can't exactly get a Sleeping Potion down a dragon's throat, then my only other option is to fly. Well, I can't bring my Firebolt with me, so I'll have to Summon it. Besides, it's probably better this way. I would have no way to know if my Conjunctivitis Curse worked without a test subject, and I don't want to be seen as copying since I bet at least one of the other champions would think of doing it too."

"I think my brother has or will think of it, since he did mutter something about the eyes being a dragon's weakest spot after I told him and Cedric about the first task," said Keiko. "But I think you should still learn the Conjunctivitis Curse to make things easier while you're flying."

"Fine," said James. "Let me get the hang of the Summoning Charm, and then I'll practice the other spell."

For the rest of the day, he worked on the Summoning Charm, with the rest of Unity giving him encouragement and providing objects for him to Summon. At first, he didn't have much luck, with the objects appearing to lose heart halfway across the room and falling like stones. Rather than leave to get lunch and dinner, Dobby was asked to bring some food and drinks from the kitchens instead. Finally, at around seven o'clock, James seemed to get the hang of it, summoning a Potions text that Mari was holding. However, he had been aiming for the book that Colin had been holding.

"Well, at least you Summoned it, James," said Luna brightly. "Now we just need to work on your aim."

After another hour, James had truly gotten the hang of the Summoning Charm, with no problems with his aim. "Well, now we know what to do the next time I can't do a spell," he muttered. "Threaten me with a dragon." He tossed Hermione her rune dictionary and raised his wand again. "_Accio _Dictionary!"

The heavy book soared out of Hermione's hand, flew across the room, and James caught it. "Excellent," said Ernie. "You've got this down, so I think we can focus on the Conjunctivitis Curse now."

James worked on the Conjunctivitis Curse until midnight. At that point, he felt he had gotten the hang of it, but he couldn't be sure because he didn't have a proper test subject and he wasn't about to ask a Unity member to be one. However, the various stuffed animals he did the spell on all had their glass eyes shatter, so hopefully it would work on a dragon. With that, the Room of Requirement then changed to one large dormitory with about sixty beds, since it was loo late for Unity to return to their respective common rooms without the risk of being caught, even thought they all could the Disillusionment Charm.

On Monday, James had a hard time concentrating during class. He skipped lunch entirely and with Mari and Kyle to guide him, practiced the Summoning Charm and the Conjunctivitis Curse some more. After an hour, he hurriedly gobbled down a sandwich that he asked Dobby to bring to make up for the skipped lunch and then hurried off the Arithmancy class.

After a quick dinner, Unity helped him practice both spells for another three hours and then James went to bed. He thought his worry over the task tomorrow would keep him awake, but he was so tired from all his practicing that he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and he pulled up the covers.

James had been focusing so hard on learning the Summoning Charm and the Conjunctivitis Curse that some of his blind panic had left him. It returned in full measure, however, on the following morning. The atmosphere in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday, giving all the students time to get down to the dragons' enclosure - though of course, they didn't yet know what they would find there.

James felt oddly separate from everyone around him, whether they were wishing him good luck or, in the case of Malfoy and his cronies, hissing "We'll have a box of tissues ready, Lydell-Black," as he passed.

It was a state of nervousness so advanced that he wondered whether he mightn't just lose his head when they tried to lead him out to his dragon, and start trying to curse everyone in sight. Time was behaving in a more peculiar fashion than ever, rushing past in great dollops, so that one moment he seemed to be sitting down in his first lesson, History of Magic, and the next, walking into lunch… and then (where had the morning gone? the last of the dragon-free hours?), Professor Flitwick was hurrying over to him in the Great Hall. Lots of people were watching.

"Mr. Lydell-Black, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now… You have to get ready for your first task."

"Okay," said James, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter. The rest of Unity wished him good luck, but he barely paid attention to them as he followed Professor Flitwick, who was no longer his usual cheerful self, but now appeared to be quite anxious.

Professor McGonagall joined them in the entrance hall, looking as anxious as her fellow Head of house. As she walked with them down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put her hand on James's shoulder.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head… We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand… The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you… Are you all right?"

"Yes," James heard himself say. "Yes, I'm fine."

The two teachers were leading him toward the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the forest, but when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, James saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.

"You're to go in here with the other champions," said Professor Flitwick, his squeaky voice rather shaky, "and wait for your turn, Mr. Lydell-Black. Mr. Bagman is in there… he'll be telling you the - the procedure… Good luck."

"Good luck," echoed Professor McGonagall, trying to smile and failing as it came out more like a grimace.

"Thanks," said James, in a flat, distant voice. They left him at the entrance of the tent. James went inside.

Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a how wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Viktor Krum looked even surlier than usual, which James supposed was his way of showing nerves. Hiroshi tried to look expressionless, but it was clear from the worry in his eyes that he was nervous about the task. Cedric was pacing up and down. When James entered, Cedric gave him a small smile, which James returned, feeling the muscles in his face working rather hard, as though they had forgotten how to do it.

"James! Good-o!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced champions. He was wearing his old Wasp robes again. "Well, now we're all here - time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" - he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them - "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different - er - varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too… ah, yes… your task is to collect the golden egg!"

James glanced around. Cedric had nodded once, to show that he understood Bagman's words, and then started pacing around the tent again; he looked slightly green. Hiroshi bit his lip and there was a definite flicker of nervousness on his face before he managed to become expressionless again. Fleur Delacour and Krum hadn't reacted at all. Perhaps they thought they might be sick if they opened their mouths; that was certainly how James felt. But they, at least, had volunteered for this…

And in no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking… James felt as separate from the crowd as though they were a different species. And then – it seemed like about a second later to James - Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack.

"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur Delacour.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon - a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck. And James knew, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that he had been right: Madame Maxime had told her what was coming.

The same held true for Krum. He pulled out the dark green Romanian Longhorn. It had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground.

Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck. Hiroshi reached into the bag and pulled out the red Chinese Fireball, with number four around its neck. There was a flicker of relief in his eyes, probably because it was an Asian dragon and he knew more about it than the other species of dragons. Knowing what was left, James put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number five. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now… Mr. Lydell-Black… could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er… yes," said James blankly, and he got up and went out of the tent with Bagman, who walked him a short distance away, into the trees, and then turned to him with a fatherly expression on his face.

"Feeling all right, James? Anything I can get you?"

"What?" said James. "I - no, nothing."

"Got a plan?" said Bagman, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean," Bagman continued, lowering his voice still further, "you're the underdog here, James… Anything I can do to help…"

"No," said James so quickly he knew he had sounded rude, "no - I - I know what I'm going to do, thanks."

"Nobody would know, James," said Bagman, winking at him.

"No, I'm fine," said James, wondering why he kept telling people this, and wondering whether he had ever been less fine. "I've got a plan worked out, I -"

A whistle had blown somewhere.

"Good lord, I've got to run!" said Bagman in alarm, and he hurried off.

James walked back to the tent and saw Cedric emerging from it, greener than ever. James tried to wish him luck as he walked past, but all that came out of his mouth was a sort of hoarse grunt.

James went back inside to Fleur and Krum. Seconds later, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to face with the living counterpart of his model.

(A/N: Please refer to chapter 20 of _Goblet of Fire_ if you wish to reread what went on for Fleur, Cedric, and Krum during the first task, since I don't feel like rewriting it.)

After the whistle had blown a fourth time, James had recovered enough to wish Hiroshi good luck. The Japanese champion managed a wan smile before he strode out the tent. his head held high and his wand gripped very tightly in his hand. Five minutes later, Bagman shouted, "That was quite unexpected! Oh, the dragon's been knocked out!"

A couple minutes more, and then there was applause, followed by a pause as the judges gave Hiroshi his marks. Then the whistle blew for a fifth time and James nervously made his way out of the tent. In the stands, he saw Sirius and Remus sitting amongst Unity, cheering him on despite their worry. His Firebolt came when Summoned, and as soon as he clambered on it and was in the air, he felt extremely better. Being in the air was comfortable for him, and now the task felt more like a Quidditch match with the Hungarian Horntail as the opposing team. He dimly heard Bagman shout something about James being able to fly and if Krum was watching this.

After a couple minutes weaving and ducking out the Horntail's way, James hit her squarely in the eyes with the Conjunctivitis Curse. She let out a bellow of pain as she flew into the air, and he just barely managed to avoid getting seriously hurt by her thrashing tail. As it was, one of the spike grazed his shoulder, tearing the fabric of his robe and giving him a shallow cut. Ignoring the pain, he dodged the dragon as she continued trashing and bellowing in pain up in the air and was able to grab the golden egg.

And with a huge spurt of speed, he was off, he was soaring out over the stands, the heavy egg safely under his uninjured arm, and it was as though somebody had just turned the volume back up - for the first time, he became properly aware of the noise of the crowd, which was screaming and applauding as loudly as the Irish supporters at the World Cup -

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Lydell-Black!"

James saw the dragon keepers rushing forward to subdue the Horntail, and, over at the entrance to the enclosure, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Moody, and Hagrid hurrying to meet him, all of them waving him toward them, their smiles evident even from this distance. He flew back over the stands, the noise of the crowd pounding his eardrums, and came in smoothly to land, his heart lighter than it had been in weeks… He had got through the first task, he had survived.

"That was excellent, Lydell-Black!" cried Professor McGonagall as he got off the Firebolt - which from her was extravagant praise. He noticed that her hand shook as she pointed at his shoulder. "You'll need to see Madam Pomfrey before the judges give out your score… Over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already…"

"Yeh did it, Harry!" said Hagrid hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Charlie said that was the wors' - "

"Thanks, Hagrid," said Harry loudly, so that Hagrid wouldn't blunder on and reveal that he had shown Harry the dragons beforehand.

Professor Moody looked very pleased too; his magical eye was dancing in its socket.

"Nice and easy does the trick, Lydell-Black," he growled.

Professor Flitwick was beaming, looking like his usual cheerful self again, as he congratulated James.

"Right then, Lydell-Black, the first aid tent, please…" said Professor McGonagall.

James walked out of the enclosure, still panting, and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried.

"Dragons!" she said, in a disgusted tone, pulling James inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; he could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, but Cedric didn't seem to be badly injured; he was sitting up, at least. Madam Pomfrey examined James's shoulder, talking furiously all the while. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? You're very lucky… this is quite shallow… it'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though…"

She cleaned the cut with a dab of some purple liquid that smoked and stung, but then poked his shoulder with her wand, and he felt it heal instantly. "Now, just sit quietly for a minute - sit! And then you can go and get your score."

She bustled out of the tent and he heard her go next door and say, "How does it feel now, Diggory?"

James didn't want to sit still: He was too full of adrenaline. He got to his feet, wanting to see what was going on outside, but before he'd reached the mouth of the tent, four people had come darting inside - Sirius and Remus, followed closely by Stella and Stuart. "That was fantastic!" exclaimed Sirius. "You did the best out of all the Champions! Only Hiroshi did almost as well as you. He had made a cauldron of some sort of sleeping potion, and Summoned it plus a large piece of meat. He poured the potion on the meat, got the dragon to eat it, and once it was knocked out, went to grab the egg."

"Headmistress Watoma only gave him a score of six, though," said Stella. "I guess what Hiroshi did made it too obvious that he knew what the task was going to be, and so she marked him down for cheating."

"He wasn't cheating!" exclaimed James. He lowered his voice and said, "Hagrid asked me to meet him at midnight on Saturday, and showed me the dragons. Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff also saw them, and I knew that they'd tell Fleur and Krum. I didn't think it fair that only Hiroshi and Cedric wouldn't know, so I asked Keiko to tell them. Well, I asked Keiko just to tell her brother, and I was planning to either tell Cedric or ask one of the Hufflepuffs in Unity to do so. Keiko just ended up telling Cedric the same time she told Hiroshi, since the two boys are friends and were sitting together at breakfast on Sunday."

"That was noble of you," said Remus with a grin.

"Come on, let's go get your scores and then Unity wants to celebrate with you," said Stuart.

Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, feeling more elated than he would have believed possible an hour ago, James ducked out of the tent. As they walked, Stuart told him how the other champions, minus Hiroshi, had done.

"You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock on the ground… turned it into a dog… he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well - the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have him than the Labrador; he only just got away. And that Fleur girl tried this sort of charm, I think she was trying to put it into a trance - well, that kind of worked too, it went all sleepy, but then it snored, and this great jet of flame shot out, and her skirt caught fire - she put it out with a bit of water out of her wand. And Krum - you won't believe this, but he didn't even think of flying! He was probably the best after you and Hiroshi, though. Hit it with the Conjunctivitis Curse in the eye, just like you did. Only thing is, it went trampling around in agony and squashed half the real eggs - they took marks off for that, he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them You at least got the dragon up in the air before you hit it with the curse."

Stuart stopped talking as James reached the edge of the enclosure. Now that the Horntail had been taken away, James could see where the six judges were sitting - right at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold.

"It's marks out of ten from each one," Stella said, and James squinting up the field, saw the first judge - Madame Maxime - raise her wand in the air. What hooked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure eight.

"Not bad!" said Stuart as the crowd applauded. "I guess she took marks off for your shoulder…"

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"That's great!" Sirius yelled, thumping his godson on the back.

Next, Dumbledore. He too put up a nine. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.

Ludo Bagman - ten.

"Ten?" said James in disbelief. "But… I got hurt… What's he playing at?"

"James, don't complain!" Stuart gave him a gentle cuff on the arm.

Headmistress Watoma raised her wand, and James thought he saw a small smile on her face as she thought for a second and then put up a nine like Crouch and Dumbledore did.

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand too - four.

Sirius instantly began cursing at Karkaroff's blatant favoritism and bias, while Remus tried to calm him down. Stella looked disgusted, but said, "Well, you're tied for first place with Krum. Hiroshi would have gotten first place if he hadn't gotten the six from his headmistress and a five from Karkaroff."

James nodded and then returned to the tent as Bagman had to speak to the champions. Cedric grinned at James, while Hiroshi came over and whispered, "Thank you for having my sister tell me about the dragons, even if Headmistress Watoma didn't like it that I knew. At least all the champions knew, so it wasn't as if I had an unfair advantage."

"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth - but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open… see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg - because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

James left the tent, and found that the rest of Unity was gathered. There was a babble as they all began trying to congratulate him at the same time. After a few minutes, things settled down and they headed for the castle, while Mari and Kyle, by general consensus, told him how the other champions had done in more detail..


	12. Chapter 12

After a couple of days to relax, James tried to work out the golden egg with the help of Unity and his older siblings. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out very well. The first time he opened it, a very loud and terrible screeching came out. He promptly shut it as everyone else winced, made faces, or clapped their hands over their ears.

"What was that?" demanded third year Hikari Natagawa, Kari for short, once the egg had been closed again.

"That sounded like fifty people scratching their nails on a chalkboard, with a version of the _Sonorus_ Charm to make the noise fifty times louder," said Mari with a shudder.

"Well, how is that horrible noise going to provide a clue as to what the second task it going to be?" asked Walter Lloyd, a third-year Hufflepuff.

"That sounds like someone being attacked with the Cruciatus Curse!" gasped Neville, looking frightened. "Maybe you'll-"

"Neville, none of the tasks are going to involve being attacked by any of the Unforgiveable Curses," interrupted Bianca patiently. "It wouldn't be allowed."

"Maybe it'll involve a banshee," suggested Seamus, looking almost as frightened as Neville had been.

"I doubt it," said Luna, shaking her head. "But it does remind me of what the mating call of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack is supposed to sound like." Three-quarters of Unity rolled their eyes at this, but nobody made any comment.

"I'll ask Stuart and Stella about this," said James, standing up. "They're older and might have some ideas that we wouldn't think of yet."

However, the Lydell twins didn't have any ideas either as to what the horrible screeching noise was, other than Stella commenting dryly, "It does sound like a louder and slightly more exaggerated version of Stuart singing in the shower."

"Hey!" protested Stuart. "My singing voice is great! And I do not sing when I'm showering!"

"Okay," said Stella with a smirk. "If you say so."

"Actually, it sounds more like the portrait of Sirius's mum before we put the Silencing Charm on her," interrupted James. "Now, let's be serious and focus on the egg."

Stuart shrugged. "I haven't a clue as to how the screeching noise can help you figure out what the second task will be."

"But I'll do some research and see if I can figure anything out," said Stella.

James wrote to Sirius and Remus, but they couldn't help him figure out the golden egg, either. However, they also promised to do some research.

The weekend passed and toward the end of Charms class on Tuesday, Professor Flitwick announced that the Yule Ball was being held on Christmas Day, open to fourth-years and above, although they could ask a younger student of they wished. When the bell rang, James was asked to stay behind for a minute, where Professor Flitwick informed him that the champions and their partners would be opening the ball. James made a feeble attempt to protest, saying that he didn't dance, but Professor Flitwick simply said, in a very firm tone, "It's tradition, Mr. Lydell-Black. You will have a partner and you will dance, at least the opening dance, at any rate."

James quickly made his way out the room, his mind in a panic. Now that he had faced the Hungarian Horntail, he would much rather face a dragon again than ask a girl to the ball, since it seemed less scary. He calmed down, however, when Unity met that evening, and Mari suggested that they all pair up. Everyone agreed with her, since the third-years couldn't go otherwise, most of the boys were nervous about having to ask a girl to be their date, and this way they'd be sure of going with someone that they liked and knew well.

All the names of the third-years were written down on slips of parchment and then placed in two hats, one for the boys and the other for the girls. Since there were thirty-six fourth years and twenty-eight third-years, three blank slips of parchment were added to each hat. Those fourth-years that drew a blank parchment would then pair up amongst themselves. Mari and Kyle were excused from this, since they had finally revealed that they were in a relationship and the others agreed that they should just go together.

The fourth-year boys, minus Kyle, lined up. Ron went first, with Ginny's name removed, since he could hardly ask his sister to the ball. He drew Kari's name and then left the line to ask Kari to be his date to the Yule Ball. Ginny's name was then added back to the hat and Blaise drew. In the girl's line, Su Li went first, with her brother's name removed.

James was fifth, and when it was his turn, he reached his hand into the hat with the girls names and drew out a slip of parchment. He looked down at it and read the name, "Luna Lovegood." He moved away from the line and walked up to Luna.

"So you drew my name?" she asked with a serene smile. "I'll be perfectly happy to be your date, James."

Seamus, Lavender, Theo, Susan, Anthony, and Mandy were the ones that drew blank pieces of parchment. After a quick discussion, Seamus asked Lavender, Theo asked Susan, and Anthony asked Mandy. The girls accepted and after that, all the girls in Unity began talking rather excitedly about the Yule Ball and what they would wear. Even Hermione, who normally didn't care about her appearance beyond making sure that she looked neat and clean, and Luna, who had an unique sense of style, took part in the conversation.

The boys exchanged looks and then spilt up into smaller groups to work on their own things.

The next day, a curly-haired third-ear Hufflepuff girl who wasn't in Unity asked James to the Yule Ball. He was taken aback, but then gathered his wits together and said, "Sorry, but I'm already going with someone else. Unity decided last night that we'd pair off, since we have an equal number of boys and girls in our group."

The girl walked away, looking rather disappointed, and James had to endure Anthony's, Terry's, and Michael's teasing throughout History of Magic. The following day, two more girls asked him, a second year and (to his horror) a fifth year who looked as though she might knock him out if he refused.

He explained to both that he already had a date. "Who are you going with?" demanded the fifth-year girl.

"Luna Lovegood," James replied.

"You're going with her?" exclaimed the girl. "But she's weird and-"

"She's my friend and I like her," snapped James. "For your information, Unity decided to pair off, since we have an equal number of guys and girls in the group."

"Oh," said the girl, looking surprised, and walked away.

After that, it must have gotten around to all the girls that weren't in Unity that James already had date to the Yule Ball, because nobody else asked him to be their date. He had a suspicion that he had only been asked in the first place because he was one of the champions. After all, 'James Lydell-Black' was simply an ordinary person.

The last week of term became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumors about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though James didn't believe half of them - for instance, that Dumbledore had bought eight hundred barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta. It seemed to be fact, however, that he had booked the Weird Sisters, a very famous wizarding group. Mari also confirmed that Minister Kishi and Secretary Fujiwara were attending the ball, and that Sirius was to be Minister Kishi's date. That surprised James, and made him wonder if the weekly meetings that Sirius and Minister Kishi were having had developed into dates.

Some of the teachers, like little Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach them much when their minds were so clearly elsewhere; he allowed them to play games in his lesson on Wednesday, and spent most of it talking to James about the perfect Summoning Charm James had used during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Other teachers were not so generous. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from plowing on through his notes on goblin rebellions - as Binns hadn't let his own death stand in the way of continuing to teach, they supposed a small thing like Christmas wasn't going to put him off. It was amazing how he could make even bloody and vicious goblin riots sound as boring as Percy's cauldron-bottom report.

Professors McGonagall and Moody kept them working until the very last second of their classes too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let them play games in class than become blood brothers with Sirius. Staring nastily around at them all, he informed them that he would be testing them on poison antidotes during the last lesson of the term. Nobody liked this, but kept their complaints to themselves, at least during class.

James put aside figuring out the gold egg, since he still had another two months to work it out, and attempted to study for the upcoming potions test before giving up and asking Mari to give him a dance lesson so he wouldn't look like a complete idiot at the ball.

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else.

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," James heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening. "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

He rolled his eyes and Mandy muttered sarcastically, "Ooh, what a tragedy."

On Christmas morning, James woke up at six thirty and began unwrapping the pile of presents at the foor of his bed. From Sirius was a handy penknife with attachments to unlock any lock and undo any knot, Remus a book on Defense, Mrs. Weasley her usual sweater (green, with a picture of a dragon on it), Hagrid a box of sweets, Stuart and Stella a bag of Dungbombs and a Potions kit, Dobby a pair of socks, and Unity the book _Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland_ and a new commonplace book.

At breakfast, Ron thanked the rest of Unity for the navy blue dress robes they had gotten as his present, and was relieved that he didn't have to wear the awful secondhand maroon robes his mother had bought. After eating, Unity spent the morning in the Room of Requirement, enjoying their presents and having fun in general.

At noon they had a magnificent lunch, and then Unity went out to the grounds where the spent the afternoon having a splendid snowball fight. It broke up at five, when all the girls left, saying that they had to get ready for the ball.

"You guys actually need three hours to get ready?" asked Ron incredulously.

The girls ignored him as they walked away. Kyle sighed and explained, "Girls have to do more when they dress up. You know, like putting on make-up and jewelry and doing their hair."

An hour later, all the boys abandoned the snowball fight and returned to the castle to get ready as well. James showered, then donned his bottle green dress robes, tried to tame his hair, which his Metamorphmagus abilities didn't have much affect on besides changing the color, and borrowed some of Stuart's aftershave so he'd smell nice.

The common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors instead of the usual mass of black. Luna was waiting for James at the foot of the stairs. She was wearing a set of spangled silver dress robes, the color of which went quite well with his robes, and had on earrings in the shape of wreaths. On her wrist was some kind of ornament that consisted of a bow and a tiny shape that turned out to be her Patronus, a hare. Her hair had been done up in a knot with a few tendrils framing her face and a crown of tinsel, and she had on pink lip gloss and some sparkly blue stuff on her eyes (James didn't know what it was called), and her nails had polish in sparkly silver, gold, red, green, and blue that flashed.

"Wow, you look pretty, Luna," said James, surprised. Not that she was plain or ugly, but with her rather unique accessories, she normally came off as looking a bit odd. She still had on some touches that were uniquely Luna, but they worked quite well on her.

"Thank you," said Luna happily. "Bianca did my hair and Morag helped me apply the eyeshadow and lip gloss. And I made this." She gestured at the 'bracelet' on her wrist.

"It's very beautiful," said James. He held out his arm, which she took, and they headed for the door.

In the Entrance Hall, they saw several members of Unity had already gathered. Su was wearing a crimson silk dress made in the Chinese fashion, with gold embroidery, and her hair had been braided and pinned up in a bun. Mari had on a blue kimono and Kyle was wearing dark silver dress robes that complemented it. James looked around and saw that all the Japanese members were wearing kimonos.

When Hermione arrived on the arm of her date, Walter, everyone couldn't help staring at her. Her hair was no longer bushy, but was now sleek and shiny and done up in an elegant knot. She wore robes made of a floaty, periwinkle blue material, and had on sparkly blue eyeshadow, pink lip gloss, and sapphire earrings.

"Y-you look stunning, Hermione," stammered Ron, blinking in shock.

"Thanks, Ron," said Hermione, smiling. "Parvati and Lavender helped me."

At that moment, the Durmstrang students came in, and James's jaw dropped when he saw who Krum's date was. It was his sister Stella. Only she didn't look the way she normally did. Like Hermione, she didn't really care that much about her appearance other than to make sure she was presentable except for the few times she dressed up. Now, however, she was wearing robes of a lovely pale green that went well with her red-gold hair, which was done up in some sort of knot with tortoiseshell combs that glittered with pale green topazes. She had on peridot earrings and bracelet, plus the gold locket with a picture of her parents that she always wore.

"James, you never said that your sister was going with Krum!" hissed Mari.

"I didn't know," protested James. "She didn't tell me, and when I asked, she said I'd find out at the Yule Ball."

Professor McGonagall then called the champions and their partners over. James and Luna told the rest of Unity they'd see them later and joined the other champions. Cedric's date was Cho Chang and Fleur's date was Roger Davies, captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Professor McGonagall, who was wearing dress robes of red tartan and had arranged a rather ugly wreath of thistles around the brim of her hat, told them to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down.

"Hi, James!" said Stella with a bright smile when she saw her younger brother.

James ignored this, walking up to Krum and saying in his most threatening tone of voice, "You had better not do anything to hurt my sister, Viktor Krum."

"James!" exclaimed Stella. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself! Sorry, Viktor. I didn't realize that younger brothers would also be protective of their sisters. I thought it was older brothers who did that." She gave James a glare.

"It is all right, Stella," said Krum. He looked at James and said, "Do not vorry, I vill not harm your sister. I am a gentleman."

"You'd better be," said James, and then turned when he heard Luna giggle.

Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting. The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

James concentrated on not tripping over his feet, though he noticed several people staring as he passed, probably because of Luna being his date. He spotted Stuart with his date, one of the exchange students, and saw that his brother had a strange expression on his face when Krum and Stella walked past.

Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Stuart's as he watched Krum and Stella draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely. Minister Kishi and Sirius was also applauding, she in a kimono of green and gold and he in dress robes of gold with forest green trim. Secretary Fujiwara was next to them, wearing a blue and silver kimono, and James was surprised to see that her date was Remus, handsome in robes of midnight blue with silver embroidery. But Mr. Crouch, James suddenly realized, was not there. The eighth seat at the table was occupied by Percy Weasley.

Sirius gestured to the empty seat next to him when James and Luna approached. They took the hint and sat down. Before James could ask why Percy was there, Sirius said, "Crouch isn't feeling well, and Percy's here representing him. Seems he got promoted to being Crouch's personal assistant. By the way, you look nice, Luna and James."

"Thanks," said James and Luna at the same time.

Sirius then asked, "Did you know that Stella was going to be Viktor Krum's date, James?"

James shook his head. "I didn't find out until just now. Stella wouldn't tell me when I asked earlier. I don't think she told Stuart either, judging from the look on his face when they walked past him and his date."

Sirius raised a brow. "That's strange. Well, at least she's not the type to go out with someone just because they're famous and broadcast it to everyone."

James nodded and then looked down at the table. There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. James picked his up uncertainly and looked around - there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said very clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"

And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. James frowned slightly over this new and more compicated method of dining, as he realized that it would probably mean more work for the Hogwarts house elves. However, he kept all comments to himself, since he also knew that the house-elves wouldn't mind extra work, and in fact would probably enjoy it.

After a few bites, he looked down the table and saw that Stella was deep in conversation with Viktor Krum and hardly seemed to notice what she was eating.

It now occurred to James that he had never actually heard Krum speak before, but he was certainly talking now, and very enthusiastically at that. "Vell, ve have a castle also, not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking," he was telling Stella. "Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these - though in vinter, ve have very little daylight, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains -"

"Now, now, Viktor!" said Karkaroff with a laugh that didn't reach his cold eyes, "don't go giving away anything else, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!"

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Igor, all this secrecy… one would almost think you didn't want visitors."

"Well, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, displaying his yellowing teeth to their fullest extent, "we are all protective of our private domains, are we not? Do we not jealously guard the halls of learning that have been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school's secrets, and right to protect them?"

"Oh I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," said Dumbledore amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon - or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."

Sirius choked on a bite of bread and Minister Kishi set down her chopsticks to thump him on the back. "Thanks, Rei," said Sirius when he'd recovered, his eyes still twinkling with aumsement over what Dumbledore had said. James had snorted into his goulash, but looked up when his godfather had spoken.

"When did you get on a first-name basis with Minister Kishi, Sirius?" asked James in amazement. "And not just first-name, but with nicknames?"

Minister Kishi gave a silvery laugh. "On our first weekly meeting together I asked Siri to call me by my first name, James-chan," she explained. "After a couple more meetings, we felt we knew each other well enough to shorten our names."

"So when is the wedding going to be?" asked Luna quite seriously. "It's obvious that the two of you love each other, Mr. Black and Minister Kishi."

"Excuse me?" sputtered Sirius, staring at her in shock. "Who said that I was going to marry Reiko?"

"You love her," said Luna simply. "She's pretty and intelligent and capable, just like Lily Potter, and you wished that you could be as lucky as your best friend when finding a wife, since you've grown up since graduating from Hogwarts and no longer just focused on pretty girls who were more into gossip and make-up than their schoolwork."

Sirius sputtered some more, while Minister Kishi said in gently admonishing tone, "Miss Lovegood, you really shouldn't be so frank. Even though this isn't Japan, this isn't something people speak openly of in the Western world."

"I'm sorry for being so frank, Minister Kishi, but it's true," said Luna. "You love Mr. Black also, since he's nice and has a sense of humor, and isn't attracted to you just because you're the Minister of Magic of Japan. You probably haven't dated anyone since you became Minister because of that reason, right?"

Minister Kishi stared at her in shock for several seconds before recovering and making her face expressionless. "You are a very perceptive young lady, Miss Lovegood," she said in a voice that didn't quite hide her surprise. She then looked at Secretary Fujiwara and Remus, who were hiding their amusement at all this.

"It has been rather obvious to me that you like Minister Kishi as more than a friend, Padfoot," said Remus.

Secretary Fujiwara added something in Japanese that caused the minister to blush. James looked at Luna. "How did you figure that out?" he whispered.

Luna simply shrugged. "I just realized it suddenly, based on what was going on."

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.

The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and James, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.

Luna gently tugged him on the sleeve and said happily, "Come on, we're supposed to dance now!"

James tripped on his robes as he stood up. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; James walked onto the brightly lit dance floor, carefully avoiding catching anyone's eye, and next moment, Luna had seized his hands, placed one around her waist, and was holding the other tightly in hers.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, James thought, revolving slowly on the spot. He kept his eyes fixed over the heads of the watching people, and very soon many of them too had come onto the dance floor, so that the champions were no longer the center of attention. Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby - he could see Ginny wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet – and Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime. He was so dwarfed by her that the top of his pointed hat barely tickled her chin; however, she moved very gracefully for a woman so large. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg. Minister Kishi was dancing quite gracefully with Sirius, reminding James of a swan. Remus had a nervous look on his face as he danced with Secretary Fujiwara, until she whispered for him to relax.

Kyle and Mari looked completely happy and in love as they waltzed around the room, and the rest of Unity was also dancing, though many of the pairs were a little awkward. Colin and Tracey, in particular, looked a little odd, since Tracey was three inches taller than him, forcing him to look up at her.

James heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the hall once more, and James let go of Luna at once.

"Let's sit down, shall we?"

"Okay," said Luna, as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was much faster. "I don't really like dancing, well, this style, anyway. I prefer making up my own dances."

James led her away from the dance floor, past Fred and Angelina, who were dancing so exhuberantly that people around them were backing away in fear of injury, and over to the table where Stuart and his date, who turned out to be Kari's older sister, Sora, was sitting.

"Did Stella tell you that her date was Krum?" Stuart demanded when James had sat down.

"No, I didn't find out until the ball started. What's the big deal? I already spoke with Krum and he said that he was a gentleman and wouldn't hurt Stella."

"I should have done that," snapped Stuart. "Not you. You're the younger brother."

"Technically you're also a younger brother, Stuart," pointed out James. "You were born a few minutes after Stella."

Stuart made a face and stood up. "Whatever. Sora, do you want to dance?"

"Yes," said Sora with a smile, also standing up.

The two went off to the dance floor and James opened two bottles of butterbeer. After while, both Percy and Bagman came by. James listened as the two of them talked for a few minutes, and then he and Luna left under the pretense of getting more drinks.

The front doors stood open, and the fluttering fairy lights in the rose garden winked and twinkled as they went down the front steps, where they found themselves surrounded by bushes; winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues. James could hear splashing water, which sounded like a fountain. Here and there, people were sitting on carved benches. He and Luna set off along one of the winding paths through the rosebushes, but they had gone only a short way when they heard an unpleasantly familiar voice.

"… don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor."

"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Karkaroffs voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. "It's been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can't deny it _"

"Then flee," said Snapes voice curtly. "Flee - I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts."

Snape and Karkaroff came around the corner. Snape had his wand out and was blasting rosebushes apart, his expression most ill-natured. Squeals issued from many of the bushes, and dark shapes emerged from them.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!" Snape snarled as a girl ran past him. "And ten points from Hufflepuff too, Stebbins!" as a boy went rushing after her. "And what are you two doing?" he added, catching sight of James and Luna on the path ahead.

Karkaroff, James saw, looked slightly discomposed to see them standing there. His hand went nervously to his goatee, and he began winding it around his finger.

"We're looking for nargles," said Luna brightly.

"What are nar- never mind, just go on your way!" Snape snarled, and he brushed past them, his long black cloak billowing out behind him. Karkaroff hurried away after Snape. James and Luna continued down the path.

"What is the matter with Professor Karkaroff?" asked Luna. "Do you think some Wrackspurts must have confused his thoughts?"

"No, but since when have he and Snape been on first-name terms?" said James slowly. Luna shrugged.

They had reached a large stone reindeer now, over which they could see the sparkling jets of a tall fountain. The shadowy outlines of two enormous people were visible on a stone bench, watching the water in the moonlight. And then James heard Hagrid speak.

"Momen' I saw yeh, I knew," he was saying, in an oddly husky voice.

James and Ron froze. This didn't sound like the sort of scene they ought to walk in on, somehow… he looked around, back up the path, and saw Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies standing half-concealed in a rosebush nearby.

He tapped Luna on the shoulder and jerked his head toward them, meaning that they could easily sneak off that way without being noticed (Fleur and Davies looked very busy to James), but Luna shook her head and whispered, "It's bad luck to disturb couples. And I think I saw a patch of mistletoe over here. We might find some nargles!" She pulled him deeper into the shadows behind the reindeer and pointed at a clump of mistletoe that was hanging from a nearby tree.

"What did you know, 'Agrid?" said Madame Maxime, a purr in her low voice.

James definitely didn't want to listen to this; he knew Hagrid would hate to be overheard in a situation like this (he certainly would have) - if it had been possible he would have put his fingers in his ears and hummed loudly, but that wasn't really an option. Instead he tried to interest himself in a beetle crawling along the stone reindeer's back, since he couldn't focus on the mistletoe without thinking about kissing Luna underneath it, but the beetle just wasn't interesting enough to block out Hagrid's next words.

"I jus' knew… knew you were like me… Was it yer mother or yer father?"

"I - I don't know what you mean, 'Agrid…"

"It was my mother," said Hagrid quietly. "She was one o' the las' ones in Britain. 'Course, I can' remember her too well… she left, see. When I was abou' three. She wasn' really the maternal sort. Well… it's not in their natures, is it? Dunno what happened to her… might be dead fer all I know…"

Madame Maxime didn't say anything. And James, in spite of himself, took his eyes off the beetle and looked over the top of the reindeer's antlers, listening… He had never heard Hagrid talk about his childhood before.

"Me dad was broken-hearted when she wen'. Tiny little bloke, my dad was. By the time I was six I could lift him up an' put him on top o' the dresser if he annoyed me. Used ter make him laugh…" Hagrid's deep voice broke. Madame Maxime was listening, motionless, apparently staring at the silvery fountain. "Dad raised me… but he died, o' course, jus' after I started school. Sorta had ter make me own way after that. Dumbledore was a real help, mind. Very kind ter me, he was…"

Hagrid pulled out a large spotted silk handkerchief and blew his nose heavily.

"So… anyway… enough abou' me. What about you? Which side you got it on?"

But Madame Maxime had suddenly got to her feet.

"It is chilly," she said - but whatever the weather was doing, it was nowhere near as cold as her voice. "I think I will go in now."

"Eh?" said Hagrid blankly. "No, don go! I've - I've never met another one before!"

"Anuzzer what, precisely?" said Madame Maxime, her tone icy.

Harry could have told Hagrid it was best not to answer; he stood there in the shadows gritting his teeth, hoping against hope he wouldn't - but it was no good.

"Another half-giant, o' course!" said Hagrid.

"'Ow dare you!" shrieked Madame Maxime. Her voice exploded through the peaceful night air like a foghorn; behind him. James heard Fleur and Roger fall out of their rosebush. "I 'ave nevair been more insulted in my life! 'Alf-giant? _Moi_? I 'ave - I 'ave big bones!"

She stormed away; great multicolored swarms of fairies rose into the air as she passed, angrily pushing aside bushes. Hagrid was still sitting on the bench, staring after her. It was much too dark to make out his expression. Then, after about a minute, he stood up and strode away, not back to the castle, but off out into the dark grounds in the direction of his cabin.

Luna turned away from inspecting the mistletoe. "I didn't find any nargles in it," she said, mildly disappointed. "It is too bad, about Hagrid, isn't it?

James swallowed. If the wizarding world's perception of giants was like the Muggle stories about them, then things weren't good. There was the story of _Jack and the Beanstalk_, where the giant of the story liked to grind boys up and eat them. And there was also the story about Jack the Giant-Killer, who got rid of a family of giants. Not to mention the story where a girl named Molly outsmarted a giant and was able to steal his sword, purse, and ring so that she and her two sisters could marry the three sons of a king.

Luna pulled James under the mistletoe and gave him a kiss, distracting him from his thoughts. Once he'd recovered from his surprise, he realized that he had enjoyed the kiss and kissed Luna back. After that, the two slowly walked away down a different path, talking about what they had overheard. They didn't care that Hagrid was a half-giant, and knew that Unity would feel the same, but knew that other people wouldn't be so open-minded, and hoped that those people didn't find out.

After awhile the two found a corner where they danced, but nothing like the opening dance back the in the Great Hall. This was much more enjoyable, as Luna invented some dance steps and James attempted to match her. They were laughing when they stopped and decided to return to the castle.

For the rest of the ball, the two sat in a corner of the Great Hall, talking quietly. Some of the other Unity members came by every so often to take a break from dancing and talk for a few minutes. Hagrid being a half-giant wasn't mentioned, since James and Luna decided to wait and tell Unity when they were all together.

James found that Luna was quite refreshing to be with, and enjoyed the time he spent with her. He wondered if perhaps his friendship with her would lead to something more, like it had for Kyle and Mari. He decided to spend some more time alone with Luna in the future in order to figure things out.

When the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause and started to wend their way into the entrance hall. Many people were expressing the wish that the ball could have gone on longer, but James was perfectly happy to be going to bed; since he was feeling rather tired now.

Out in the entrance hall, James and Luna saw Stella saying good night to Krum before he went back to the Durmstrang ship. James made a face at the sight of Stella and Krum kissing. Behind him, Stuart made a choking noise and then marched over to them. "That is enough!" he snapped.

Stella and Krum broke apart in surprise. "Good-night, Viktor," said Stella. "I think I need to have some words with my twin."

Krum nodded and started to walk away, but stopped when Stuart shouted, "Don't you ever kiss my sister again, or I'll hex you!"

Stella rounded on her twin angrily. "For your information, Stuart, this isn't our first kiss! Viktor and I been in a relationship since the end of the first task! Now keep your nose out of my relationships or I'll curse it off for you!" She then turned to Krum and proceeded to throughly snog him.

Stuart sputtered incoherently and then reached for his sister. She broke off the kiss, whirled around, and hit him with a Bat-Bogey hex. While he began fighting of the bat-shaped bogeys flying around his face, she kissed Krum one more time and then waved him away to the Durmstrang ship.

James choked back laughter. After his initial threat to Krum, he had accepted that the relationship, and he knew that Stella could take care of herself. Stuart, on the other hand, wasn't so acceptive of the fact that his twin was dating. James shook his head and escorted Luna upstairs.


	13. Chapter 13

When James woke up on the morning following the Yule Ball, he thought he heard shouting coming from downstairs. He hastily pulled on a sweater over his pajamas and then ran down to the common room to find his twin siblings having their first ever blazing row. They were standing a few feet apart, bellowing at each other, their faces scarlet, and paying no attention to their audience of most of Ravenclaw house. Stella's hair was coming out of the ponytail.

"-can't tell me what to do!" Stella was yelling. "I'm older than you!"

"By six bloody minutes, not six years!" shouted Stuart angrily.

"Well, I'm eighteen!" retorted Stella. "I'm of age in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, so I'll bloody well do whatever I want as long as I don't break a law!"

"I don't care, you're still not dating Viktor Krum and that that's final! He's probably got a big head and will want to have his way with -"

"How dare you!" shrieked Stella. "Viktor's nice and a perfect gentleman and doesn't bask in his fame at all! If he did, he would have chosen to date one of those shallow idiots who are only interested in him because he's an international Quidditch player! And I can take care of myself! If any boy tried to get fresh with me, I'd hex a certain part of their anatomy off!"

Stuart instantly changed tack. "Then he's dating you because you're the sister of one of the Hogwarts' champions and can tell Krum stuff about James!"

"That's not true! And I would _never_ tell him anything about James without James's permission!"

"Then Krum wants you to help him work out the golden egg or something like that!" retorted Stuart. "You're fraternizing with the enemy!"

"You are a-" and for the first time ever, she used swear words to insult her twin. "You know perfectly well that I want James to win and that my second choice for winner is Cedric! And the Quartet Quest is about international magical cooperation! I'm dating Viktor, and nothing you say will change my mind! I've never felt this way about any other guy, and he's never felt this way about any other girl, so we're staying together. Now you will stop all further interference with my relationships, or you'll get worse than a Bat-Bogey Hex!"

With that, Stella stormed out of the Ravenclaw common room, leaving Stuart gaping at her. The rest of the assembled Ravenclaws were silent, still not quite believing what they'd witnessed. The Lydell twins normally got along so well and had never had anything more than the mildest of disagreements.

James stared at his older brother, wondering what had gotten into Stuart. He shouldn't be this upset over Stella dating. Brothers might be protective of their sisters and do their best to make sure that their sisters weren't hurt by boys, but brothers normally didn't forbid sisters from dating a particular boy. Well, if the boy was a complete cad or something, then yes, but Viktor Krum seemed like a gentleman and Stella was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. They had been dating for a month, after all, and if Krum wasn't a gentleman, he would have shown signs of it earlier and Stella would have promptly dumped him, after making him regret his behavior.

Edward Hale, one of Stuart's friends, cautiously approached Stuart and whispered something. Stuart sighed. "Maybe I am overreacting, but I just don't want to see my sister hurt. Krum may seem nice, but how do I know he's not one of those cads that uses their fame to get what they want? Or he could be a rake."

James frowned. What did his brother mean by calling Krum a rake? He had a feeling that Stuart wasn't referring to the yard tool that was used to gather up piles of leaves or cut grass. Unfortunately, James didn't know of any other meaning for the word rake, other than the verb form which referred to act of using a rake.

Carly Walsh, one of Stella's friends, said, "You know Stella can take care of herself, Stuart. You heard what she said she'd do if a boy tried to get fresh with her. She's capable of doing it if she got mad enough. She's not the damsel-in-distress type that waits in the tower for her prince or knight in shining armor to come along and rescue her."

Teresa Cullins, another of Stella's friends, added, "And Krum isn't a rake. I think it'd be in all the magazines and newspapers if he went around seducing various girls."

From what Teresa said, James was able to figure out that another meaning for rake was something along the lines of a guy that seduced many girls. He made a note to look it up in the dictionary later to get a clearer definition and returned to his dormitory to get dressed.

When he entered the Great Hall for what was either a late breakfast or early lunch, he saw that many Ravenclaws were gossiping about the row that Stella and Stuart just had. The Japanese students were all shaking their heads or hiding shock, for rows like that were practically unheard of for them. Any arguments ended up being more like polite disagreements in Japanese wizarding society, and if it actually reached something like the level that Stuart and Stella had, it would definitely not be in front of a group of other people.

After eating, James grabbed his golden egg and went to the Room of Requirement to try and figure it out. He had been at for half an hour, when Keiko came running in, looking excited. She said something in rapid Japanese, then shook her head and said, "Sorry. I mean, I have a message to pass on from my brother and Cedric. To repay you for telling them about the dragons, Hiroshi says that you should take a bath with your egg and think things over in order to work out the clue and Cedric suggests that you use the prefects' bathroom to get more privacy. He says that the password is 'Pine fresh'."

James looked surprised. "Really? That was nice of them. Could you pass along my thanks for the tip, Keiko?" She nodded and he continued, "I'll work out the egg tonight, after everyone's gone to bed." Lisa offered to open the common room door for him, since he would be sneaking out under his Invisibility cloak.

After that, he and Luna told the rest of Unity about Hagrid being half-giant. Hermione and Mari didn't seem surprised at all. "Well, I thought he must be," Hermione said, shrugging. "I knew he couldn't be pure giant because they're about twenty feet tall. But honestly, all this hysteria about giants. They can't all be horrible… It's the same sort of prejudice that people have toward werewolves… It's just bigotry, isn't it?"

Bianca flinched and said bitterly, "It's because of werewolves like that horrible Fenir Greyback that we have a bad name. So the ones like Mr. Lupin and me, who are only dangerous on the full moon, and even that's lessened by the Wolfsbane Potion, are prejudiced against by three-quarters of the wizarding world. And with that law that just got passed, no matter if I get 'Outstandings' on all my NEWTs, I'll probably end up having to get a job in the Muggle world."

"Become fluent in Japanese and you could get a job in the Japanese Ministry of Magic or teach English and Western culture at the Tokyo School of Magic," suggested Tai. "Japan as a whole does not have any prejudice against werewolves. The ones that do keep their opinions to themselves, since it would be rude to express them too openly."

"Bianca wouldn't necessarily want to move to Japan," pointed out Mari. "I'm going to work in the English Ministry after I graduate and work to grant more rights to not just werewolves, but also beings like goblins and house-elves."

That evening, after dinner, Stuart took James aside. "I was doing some research, and I think you should put the golden egg under water in order to figure things out, James. I read that when merpeople talk, it sounds like regular speech under the water, but above it, it sounds like screeching."

"Thanks, Stuart, but I was already planning to do that later tonight," replied James. "Cedric and Hiroshi wanted to pay me back for tipping them off about the dragons, so they asked Keiko to tell me to take a bath with my egg and that I should use the prefects' bathroom for more privacy."

Stuart looked chargrined. "That was a waste of time I could have used to study for my N.E.W.T.s. Uh, Cedric did tell you that the password to the prefects' bathroom is 'Pine fresh'?"

"Yeah, he did. He didn't say the location, but you already told me where it was when you were made prefect, and I looked up the route to it on the Marauder's Map."

"Okay then. When you work out the egg, would you mind telling me about it, James? Maybe I can help you with figuring out what to do to get past the second task."

At eleven that night, Lisa opened the door to the common room and whispered "Good luck," as an invisible James slipped past her and went out to the hallway. He checked the Marauder's Map to make sure that Filch or a teacher wasn't nearby and made his way to the prefects' bathroom.

It was awkward moving under the cloak tonight, because James had the heavy egg under one arm and the map held in front of his nose with the other. However, the moonlit corridors were empty and silent, and by checking the map at strategic intervals, James was able to ensure that he wouldn't run into anyone he wanted to avoid. When he reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrong hands, he located the right door, leaned close to it, and muttered the password, "Pine fresh," just as Keiko and Stuart had told him.

The door creaked open. James slipped inside, bolted the door behind him, and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, looking around.

His immediate reaction was that it would be worth becoming a prefect just to be able to use this bathroom. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pools edges, each with a differently colored jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was a single golden-framed painting on the wall. It featured a blonde mermaid who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair over her face. It fluttered every time she snored.

James moved forward, looking around, his footsteps echoing off the walls. Magnificent though the bathroom was - and quite keen though he was to try out a few of those taps - he was feeling a bit nervous about finding out about the second task. Facing a dragon hadn't been so scary once he'd done it, but when he had first found out, he had freaked out inside. Nevertheless, he put one of the fluffy towels, the cloak, the map, and the egg at the side of the swimming-pool-sized bath, then knelt down and turned on a few of the taps.

He could tell at once that they carried different sorts of bubble bath mixed with the water, though it wasn't bubble bath as James had ever experienced it. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs; another poured ice-white foam so thick that James thought it would have supported his weight if he'd cared to test it; a third sent heavily perfumed purple clouds hovering over the surface of the water. He amused himself for awhile turning the taps on and off, particularly enjoying the effect of one whose jet bounced off the surface of the water in large arcs. Then, when the deep pool was full of hot water, foam, and bubbles, which took a very short time considering its size,he turned off all the taps, pulled off his pajamas, slippers, and dressing gown, and slid into the water.

It was so deep that his feet barely touched the bottom, and he actually did a couple of lengths before swimming back to the side and treading water, staring at the egg. Highly enjoyable though it was to swim in hot and foamy water with clouds of different-colored steam wafting all around him, he had to figure out what the second task was going to be.

James lowered the egg beneath the foamy surface and opened it… and this time, it did not wail. A gurgling song was coming out of it, a song whose words he couldnt distinguish through the water. He then took a great breath and slid under the surface - and now, sitting on the marble bottom of the bubble-filled bath, he heard a chorus of eerie voices singing to him from the open egg in his hands:

"_Come seek us where our voices sound,_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching, ponder this:_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what we took,_

_But past an hour- the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back_"

James let himself float back upward and broke the bubbly surface, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He thought for a minute, then listened to the song three more times underwater in order to memorize it. After that, he shut the egg and set it next to the side of the bath again.

Since the second task seemed to be taking place underwater, then that meant it involved the lake. It would also have to involve merpeople, since they were the only beings he knew of that could only be properly understood when in water. That meant he would have to seek out merpeople and recover whatever it was they took from him. Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly easy, since he wasn't a great swimmer. He never had much of a chance to learn to swim back at the orphanage, and while the Carters had a swimming pool, he had only been able to use it for two weeks during the summer. Swimming in that was all very well, but the lake was much deeper and larger, and he also had to figure out a way to breathe underwater.

James climbed out of the bath, dried himself off, and got dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown again. After draining the bath, he grabbed his wand, the golden egg, and Marauder's Map, pulled the cloak over himself, and then made his way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

The Ravenclaw members of Unity were waiting up for him again, so he told them what he had found out. "I'm sure there must be a spell that enables you to breathe underwater," said Anthony. "We'll look it up tomorrow."

"And I think there was a plant that did the same," added Wen-Jing. "But I don't remember what it was. Just that the witch who discovered its properties is on a chocolate frog card. Neville'll probably know though."

"Okay," said James. "Thanks, you guys. I'm going to bed now. Good-night." With that, he followed the other six boys upstairs.


	14. Chapter 14

The next day, James told the rest of Unity about what he had found out with the golden egg. None of them knew of any spell that would enable one to breathe underwater, but Neville was able to tell them about gillyweed, a plant that would temporarily give one gills when ingested. James immediately wrote to Sirius, asking his guardian to purchase some gillyweed and deliver it a few days before the task. When he told Stuart everything, his adoptive brother suggested the Bubble-Head Charm.

"Thanks, Stuart, but Neville already told me about gillyweed," said James apologetically.

"That's just great," said Stuart sarcastically. "There's no point in my being even a part of your life when you've got a whole bunch of friends to help you."

"That's not true!" exclaimed James. "You're a great help. The Bubble-Head Charm is going to come in handy for when I work on my swimming, because I'm only going to have access to gillyweed when the second task starts. I'll look up the incantation now and practice it."

With that settled, James learned the Bubble-Head Charm and then asked the Room of Requirement to provide a swimming pool so he could work on his swimming skills. Kyle and Justin, who were pretty good swimmers, gave him some pointers and demonstrated various strokes, like the backstroke and breaststroke.

At breakfast two days before term started, James was buttering some toast when next to him, Mari gasped. Across from them, Bianca spat out a mouthful of food and exclaimed, "That horrible b!tch!" A few seats down from her, Walter knocked over his goblet of milk as he angrily threw his copy of the _Daily Prophet_ down on the table. Colin choked from his seat at the end of the table and hurriedly set down the cup of juice he'd been drinking.

The others stared at them. "Do you know what that horrible Rita Skeeter has done?" demanded Mari, her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ shaking angrily in her hand. She, Bianca, Walter, and Colin passed around their newspapers so that the rest of Unity could find out. James's eyes widened as he read the article, with the other Ravenclaws reading over his shoulder.

_DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE_

_Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures._

_Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates._

_An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening." 'I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Pansy Parkinson got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."_

_Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire-crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions._

_"I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject. As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he has always pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror._

_While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature._

_Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with a large group of students currently in their third and fourth years at Hogwarts that call themselves 'Unity', as they are from all four houses and are working toward inter-house cooperation. Perhaps Unity is unaware of the unpleasant truth about their large friend – but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Unity, along with their fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants._

When everyone was done reading the article, Theo asked, "But how did that horrible - reporter - find out?"

"Who cares?" snapped Bianca. "The point is that she did find out and now there's going to be a bunch of close-minded and prejudiced idiots that are going to hate Hagrid. Oh, I wish I could strangle that Rita Skeeter! And I really want to hex Malfoy for what he told her. Honestly, what rubbish! We don't all hate Hagrid, and flobberworms don't even have teeth! That horrid cow is going to regret this! I swear to find a way to make her pay!"

"Unfortunately, all the stuff in the article is most likely true," said Mari with a grimace. "Otherwise I'd ask Aunt Reiko if she could sue the _Daily Prophet_ for slander again."

Bianca snorted. "That wouldn't stop Skeeter. She only got suspended for a month after that article about James. This time she might get suspended for more than that, but she's too popular a reporter to actually get sacked unless there's a whole bunch of complaints against her. There has to be something that will really make her regret this article and stop her from writing, or at least make her write truthful articles that don't go around slashing people's reputations to pieces."

"I doubt it," said Kyle, shaking his head. "Why don't we go visit Hagrid later and see how he's taking this?"

However, when Unity went down to Hagrid's cabin after breakfast, there was no answer. They could hear Fang barking when they pounded on the door, but other than that, nothing happened. "Is Hagrid out?" asked Astoria, looking puzzled.

"Or he might have decided to barricade himself and not see anyone," said Blaise. "But surely he doesn't think that we'd hate him for being part-giant? None of us are prejudiced against those that aren't fully human. I mean, one of our members is a werewolf, and three more are part kitsune."

"We will try again later," said Arata, a frown on his face. "I wish Britain was a little more like Japan in their views on part-humans and did not do things like this."

The rest of Unity nodded in agreement and returned to the castle.

However, it seemed that Hagrid really was upset over Rita Skeeter's article and refused to show his face to anyone, for when term started, he was not present at the first Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Instead, there was a substitute, an elderly witch with closely cropped gray hair and a very prominent chin standing before Hagrid's front door, who introduced herself as Professor Grubbly-Plank. When Daphne asked where Hagrid was, Professor Grubbly-Plank informed her shortly that Hagrid was indisposed and then led the class past the paddock where the huge Beauxbatons horses were standing, huddled against the cold, and toward a tree on the edge of the forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.

Many of the girls "ooooohed!" at the sight of the unicorn. "Oh it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

"Boys keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, throwing out an arm and catching Ron hard in the chest. "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it…"

She and the girls walked slowly forward toward the unicorn, leaving the boys standing near the paddock fence, watching. The moment Professor Grubbly-Plank was out of earshot, all the boys in Unity rounded on Malfoy, who was sniggering. "You stupid prat!" snapped Dean. "What was that rubbish you told the Skeeter woman? _You_ might hate Hagrid, but there's plenty more that don't. There's sixty-four members in Unity, and we all like Hagrid and consider him a friend."

"Hagrid's okay," grunted Vincent Crabbe, who had left Unity along with Greg Goyle toward the end of first-year, but was still a decent sort and mostly kept to himself.

"Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career," said Malfoy, his eyes glinting. "Half-giant… and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young… None of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all… They'll be worried he'll eat their kids, ha, ha…"

"You-" began Neville angrily.

"Are you paying attention over there?" Professor Grubbly-Plank's voice carried over to the boys; the girls were all clustered around the unicorn now, stroking it. The boys turned their attention to the unicorn, whose many magical properties Professor Grubbly-Plank was now enumerating in a loud voice, so that the boys could hear too.

When class ended, the Unity members agreed that it was nice having a proper lesson that didn't involve dangerous creatures, but it wasn't worth it if it meant that Hagrid was acting like a hermit and not doing any teaching. Unity tried once more to visit Hagrid, but again, he didn't answer the door and after half an hour they gave up.

They also wondered how Rita Skeeter had found out, since Hagrid wouldn't have told her, and the only thing they could come up with was that she must have overheard him talking with Madame Maxime that night in the garden. Skeeter must have either Disillusioned herself or was under an Invisibility Cloak, since James and Luna hadn't seen her.

They didn't see a sign of Hagrid all week. He didn't appear at the staff table at mealtimes, they didn't see him going about his gamekeeper duties on the grounds, and Professor Grubbly-Plank continued to take the Care of Magical Creatures classes. Malfoy was gloating at every possible opportunity.

"Missing your half-breed pal?" he kept whispering to members of Unity whenever there was a teacher around, so that he was safe from their retaliation. "Missing the elephantman?"

There was a Hogsmeade visit halfway through January. As Unity passed the Durmstrang ship moored in the lake, they saw Viktor Krum emerge onto the deck, dressed in nothing but swimming trunks.

He was very skinny indeed, but apparently a lot tougher than he looked, because he climbed up onto the side of the ship, stretched out his arms, and dived, right into the lake. James was quite startled to see Stella walk over, do a Warming Charm on herself, and then join Krum in the lake, dressed in a blue and bronze bikini.

"I hope Stuart doesn't find out about this," James muttered. "It might set him off again."

Unity had been hoping to see Hagrid in Hogsmeade and persuade him to come back, but he didn't seem to be in the village at all. When they went inside the Three Broomsticks, they saw that Hagrid wasn't there either. However, Ludo Bagman was present, sitting in a shadowy corner with abunch of goblins. Bagman was talking very fast in a low voice to the goblins, all of whom had their arms crossed and were looking rather menacing.

It was indeed odd. James thought, that Bagman was here at the Three Broomsticks on a weekend when there was no Triwizard event, and therefore no judging to be done. He watched Bagman's reflection in the mirror behind the bar. He was looking strained again, quite as strained as he had that night in the forest before the Dark Mark had appeared. But just then Bagman glanced over at the bar, saw James, and stood up.

"In a moment, in a moment!" Harry heard him say brusquely to the goblins, and Bagman hurried through the pub toward James, his boyish grin back in place.

"James Lydell!" he said. "How are you? Been hoping to run into you! Everything going all right?"

"Fine, thanks," said James.

"Wonder if I could have a quick, private word, James?" said Bagman eagerly. "You couldn't give us a moment, you guys, could you?" The rest of Unity exchanged looks and then went to find seats.

Bagman led James along the bar to the end furthest from Madam Rosmerta.

"Well, I just thought I'd congratulate you again on your splendid performance against that Horntail, James," said Bagman. "Really superb."

"Thanks," said James, but he knew this couldn't be all that Bagman wanted to say, because he could have congratulated James in front of Unity.

Bagman didn't seem in any particular rush to spill the beans, though. James saw him glance into the mirror over the bar at the goblins, who were all watching him and James in silence through their dark, slanting eyes.

"Absolute nightmare," said Bagman to James in an undertone, noticing James watching the goblins too. "Their English isn't too good… it's like being back with all the Bulgarians at the Quidditch World Cup… but at least they used sign language another human could recognize. This lot keep gabbling in Gobbledegook… and I only know one word of Gobbledegook. _Bladvak_. It means 'pickax.' I don't like to use it in case they think I'm threatening them."

He gave a short, booming laugh.

"What do they want?" James said, noticing how the goblins were still watching Bagman very closely.

"Er - well…" said Bagman, looking suddenly nervous. "They… er… they're looking for Barty Crouch."

"Why are they looking for him here?" said James. "He's at the Ministry in London, isn't he?"

"Er… as a matter of fact, I've no idea where he is," said Bagman. "He's sort of… stopped coming to work. Been absent for a couple of weeks now. Young Percy, his assistant, says he's ill. Apparently he's just been sending instructions in by owl. But would you mind not mentioning that to anyone, James? Because Rita Skeeter's still poking around everywhere she can, and I'm willing to bet she'd work up Barty's illness into something sinister. Probably say he's gone missing like Bertha Jorkins."

"Have you heard anything about Bertha Jorkins?" James asked.

"No," said Bagman, looking strained again. "I've got people looking, of course…" (About time, thought James) "and it's all very strange. She definitely arrived in Albania, because she met her second cousin there. And then she left the cousin's house to go south and see an aunt… and she seems to have vanished without trace en route. Blowed if I can see where she's got to… she doesn't seem the type to elope, for instance… but still… What are we doing, talking about goblins and Bertha Jorkins? I really wanted to ask you" - he lowered his voice - "how are you getting on with your golden egg?"

"It's fine," said James shortly. Bagman, however, didn't seem to believe him.

"Listen, James," he said (still in a very low voice), "I feel very bad about all this… you were thrown into this tournament, you didn't volunteer for it… and if…" (his voice was so quiet now, James had to lean closer to listen) "if I can help at all… a prod in the right direction… I've taken a liking to you… the way you got past that dragon… well, just say the word."

James stared up into Bagman's round, rosy face and his wide, baby-blue eyes.

"We're supposed to work out the clues alone, aren't we?" he said, careful to keep his voice casual and not sound as though he was accusing the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports of breaking the rules.

"Well… well, yes," said Bagman impatiently, "but - come on. James - we all want a Hogwarts victory, don't we?"

"Have you offered Cedric help?" James asked.

The smallest of frowns creased Bagman's smooth face. "No, I haven't," he said. "I - well, like I say, I've taken a liking to you. Just thought I'd offer…"

"Well, thanks," said James, "but I've already worked things out, Mr. Bagman."

He wasn't entirely sure why he was refusing Bagman's help, except that Bagman was almost a stranger to him, and accepting his assistance would feel somehow much more like cheating than asking advice from Unity, his siblings, Remus, or Sirius.

Bagman looked almost affronted, but couldn't say much more as Fred and George turned up at that point.

"Hello, Mr. Bagman," said Fred brightly. "Can we buy you a drink?"

"Er… no," said Bagman, with a last disappointed glance at James, "no, thank you, boys…"

Fred and George looked quite as disappointed as Bagman, who was surveying James as though he had let him down badly.

"Well, I must dash," he said. "Nice seeing you all. Good luck, James."

He hurried out of the pub. The goblins all slid off their chairs and exited after him. James went to rejoin Unity. He told Mari, Kyle, Anthony, Terry, Su, Lisa, and Morag about what Bagman had wanted, who in turn then went to the other tables and told the rest of Unity.

They were planning to return to Hogwarts in order to discuss this further in private when Rita Skeeter entered. She was wearing banana-yellow robes today; her long nails were painted shocking pink, and she was accompanied by her paunchy photographer. She bought drinks, and she and the photographer made their way through the crowds to the only empty table available, Unity glaring at her as she approached. She was talking fast and looking very satisfied about something.

"… didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo? Now, why would that be, do you think? And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in town anyway? Showing them the sights… what nonsense… he was always a bad liar. Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? 'Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman… ' Snappy start to a sentence, Bozo - we just need to find a story to fit it -"

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" asked James loudly.

A few people looked around. Rita Skeeter's eyes widened behind her jeweled spectacles as she saw who had spoken.

"James Lydell-Black!" she said, beaming. "How lovely! Why don't you come and join-?"

"I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick," snapped James furiously. "What did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?"

Rita Skeeter raised her heavily penciled eyebrows.

"Our readers have a right to the truth, James. I am merely doing my-"

"Who cares if he's half-giant?" James shouted. "There's nothing wrong with him!"

The whole pub had gone very quiet. Madam Rosmerta was staring over from behind the bar, apparently oblivious to the fact that the flagon she was filling with mead was overflowing.

Rita Skeeter's smile flickered very slightly, but she hitched it back almost at once; she snapped open her crocodile-skin handbag, pulled out her Quick-Quotes Quill, and said, "How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know, James? The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it."

Bianca stood up very abruptly, her butterbeer clutched in her hand as though it were a grenade, and stomped over to them.

"You horrible woman," she said, through gritted teeth, "you don't care, do you, anything for a story, and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman -"

"Sit down, you silly little girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand," said Rita Skeeter coldly, her eyes hardening as they fell on Bianca. "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl…"

"Really?" demanded Bianca, her eyes flashing. "You are a disgrace to reporters everywhere! I'd call you a cold-hearted b!tch, except that it would an insult to all female canines, who are, on the whole, rather nice animals. You will regret what you did!" She then turned to Unity, who looked rather shocked at her outburst, and said, "Come on, we're going to see Hagrid. He's not going to barricade himself any longer. He should have never let that pathetic excuse for a reporter to upset him!" She made a rather rude gesture at Rita Skeeter and then stormed out of the Three Broomsticks, the rest of Unity following her.

James looked back and saw Rita Skeeter staring after them with an expression of great dislike on her face. She then whispered something to her photographer before heading towards tha back door.

Bianca led the way back to Hogwarts and up the grounds to Hagrid's cabin.

"Hagrid!" Bianca shouted, pounding on his front door. "Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being -"

The door opened. Bianca exclaimed, "About t-!" and then stopped, very suddenly, because she had found herself face-to-face, not with Hagrid, but with Albus Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, smiling down at them.

"We-er-we wanted to see Hagrid," said Bianca in a rather small voice.

"Yes, I surmised as much," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Since all of you can't fit inside, why don't Hagrid and I come outside and join Unity?"

Hagrid came outside behind Dumbledore, looking like a real mess. His face was blotchy, his eyes swollen, and he had gone to the other extreme where his hair was concerned; far from trying to make it behave, it now looked like a wig of tangled wire.

"More tea, I think," said Dumbledore, closing the door behind Hagrid, drawing out his wand, and twiddling it; a dozen revolving tea trays appeared in midair along with a plates of cakes. Dumbledore magicked the trays onto the ground, and everybody sat down. There was a slight pause, and then Dumbledore said, "Did you by any chance hear what Miss Hammond was shouting, Hagrid?"

Bianca went slightly pink, but Dumbledore smiled at her and continued, "Unity still seems to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."

"Of course we still want to know you!" James exclaimed, staring at Hagrid. "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow - sorry, Professor," he added quickly, looking at Dumbledore.

"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Mr. Lydell-Black," said Dumbledore, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the sky.

"Er-right," said James sheepishly. "I just meant-Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that-woman-wrote about you?"

Two fat tears leaked out of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes and fell slowly into his tangled beard. James looked away and saw a beetle fly by and land on a windowsill. He dismissed this as inconsequential and looked back at Hagrid.

"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, still looking carefully up at the sky. "I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it -"

"Not all of 'em," said Hagrid hoarsely. "Not all of 'em wan' me ter stay."

"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," said Dumbledore, now peering sternly over his half-moon spectacles. "Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"

"Yeh - yeh're not half-giant!" said Hagrid croakily.

"Hagrid, I'm a werewolf!" said Bianca furiously. "How do you think people will react when they find that out? Mr. Lupin was the best Defense teacher we've ever had, but he had to resign after a year because he was a werewolf too. Now please come back and teach. Don't resign like he had to."

Hagrid gulped. More tears leaked out down his cheeks and into his tangled beard. Dumbledore stood up. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday," he said. "You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all."

Once Dumbledore had left, Unity had some tea and cakes and waited for Hagrid to compose himself. When he had, he thanked Unity for standing by him and showed them a picture of his father.

"Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts," Hagrid croaked. "Dad was dead chuffed… thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me mum… well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really… but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year… Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job… trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances… tha's what sets him apar' from other heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out okay even if their families weren'… well… all tha' respectable. But some don' understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh… there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say - I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed. 'Never be ashamed,' my ol' dad used ter say, 'there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with.' An' he was right. I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin' with her no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones… I'll give her big bones."

Unity exchanged uncomfortable looks, but Hagrid didn't seem to notice, or was aware that he said anything odd. He continued on, telling James that he was proud of him and that he was sure that he would win the Quartet Quest. When Unity returned to the castle, James silently prayed to whatever diety exisited that he would win, if only for Hagrid's sake.


	15. Chapter 15

On Monday, Unity was enjoying breakfast when the mail arrived. As usual, Mari began reading the copy of the _Daily Prophet_ delivered to her as she ate. Not two minutes later, she threw down the newspaper in disgust and snapped, "That foul, despicable reporter!" She then proceeded to curse in English, French, and Japanese, to everyone's surprise, for they had never heard her use any language stronger than 'damn' or 'bloody' before.

The others that also had the _Daily Prophet_ delivered to them quickly picked up their copies to see what it was that had upset Mari so. Bianca gasped and muttered a curse two seconds later and Kyle picked up Mari's discarded copy. James leaned over to read over Kyle's shoulder and mentally cursed when he saw the article.

_A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING_

_Rubeus Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures instructor and gamekeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is not the only part-human at the school, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Bianca Hammond, a member of the group of students known as Unity and a third-year student, was quite staunch in her defense for Hagrid, and there is a reason why. We can exclusively reveal that she, like Remus Lupin, a former graduate of Hogwarts and the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher the previous year, is a werewolf. _

_Werewolves have long been feared and mistrusted by wizarding society, with good reason. Their tempers are uncertain, and even with the development of the Wolfsbane Potion, witches and wizards would do well to be wary of being bitten or attacked by a werewolf during a full moon. Such werewolves like Fenir Greyback, who supported He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named, are also brought to mind. Even those that seem to be civilized, such as Remus Lupin, can be questioned. Lupin himself was friends with Peter Pettigrew, who later turned out to be a Death Eater and was the one that really betrayed the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and killed twelve Muggles, back in their school days._

_We must wonder at Albus Dumbledore allowing such dangerous part-humans to be at Hogwarts, where other students are thereby exposed to danger. The group Unity seems to be aware that one their members is a werewolf, but not of the dangers of associating with one. Surely Dumbledore has a duty of warning them and their fellow students of the dangers._

"How did she find out?" demanded Ron a few seats over. "Only us, Bianca's parents, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Sirius, and Lupin know. Oh, and the teachers, or at least the Heads of House."

"Since the adults wouldn't have said anything to that _reporter_," and Dean spat out 'reporter' like it was a curse word, "then that leaves us. And if any of us -"

"Stop that, Dean," said Hermione sharply. "None of us would ever betray Bianca like that. We haven't gone around blabbing about James's secret, so we'd hardly do it with Bianca."

Sorrel Davidson came over, a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ clutched in her hand and a nasty expression on her face. She had stopped bothering Luna after first year, and generally ignored Unity, but it appeared the article changed things. "No wonder you're friends with Loony, Hammond," Sorrel spat. "You're a werewolf. I should have figured it out when you were absent once a month. I don't know why Professor Dumbledore even allows half-breeds like you at Hogwarts. You shouldn't-"

"Shut up!" interrupted James angrily, leaping to his feet. "Bianca is a million times better than you!"

From over at another table, Malfoy shouted, "Get out of Hogwarts, werewolf! We don't need your kind here!"

"That is enough!" said Professor McGonagall, rising from the staff table. "Malfoy, twenty points from Slytherin for your outburst."

Professor Snape also rose, an unreadable expression on his face. "I would like to speak with you after breakfast, Mr. Malfoy."

Professor Flitwick walked over to Unity's table. "Miss Davidson, please sit down and leave Miss Hammond alone, or I will have to give you a detention." Sorrel glared at Bianca and then went to do as asked.

Other than for a very few exceptions, none of the Gryffindors seemed to care that Bianca was a werewolf, but the same couldn't be said for the other three houses. Many of the Slytherins shot nasty looks towards the Unity table, and a handful of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were whispering to each other and looking nervously or distastefully at Unity.

Bianca ripped the page containing the article into small pieces and snapped, "That _woman_ will regret this."

"Oh, she will," said Mari darkly, her eyes glittering with anger. "She's not going to hurt a member of Unity and get away with it. I'll make certain of that." She then spotted a beetle crawling on the table and brushed at it with her napkin, but it flew away before she could touch it.

James frowned at the beetle, but then dismissed it to say, "There definitely has to be a way to stop that cow of a reporter. Maybe Sirius will be able to think of something."

The next morning, however, turned out even worse. Three owls flew in, bearing letters, and landed in front of Bianca. She had relieved them of their burdens when five more owls landed in front of her, jostling each other for a spot. Bianca opened up one of the envelopes, turned red when she read the note, and tossed it aside. James picked it up and saw that it wasn't handwritten, but instead composed from pasted letters that seemed to have been cut out of the _Daily Prophet_.

"_YoU a**R**e a HorriBle half-**b**r**ee**d and D**O**n't deServe TO l**i**ve. You're ju**s**t liKe Fe**N**iR grEybAck, w**h**o kiLled **m**y cousin. **G**O back to wH**E**re yoU cA**m**e fRom, WeRe**w**olF._"

Bianca started opening the other envelopes when two more owls turned up. One carried a Howler, which shouted for everyone in the Great Hall to hear, "_YOU FILTHY HALF-BREED, THINKING THAT YOU BELONG AMONG DECENT PEOPLE AND DESERVE AN EDUCATION! WELL, YOU DON'T! YOU'RE A DANGER TO EVERYONE AROUND YOU, AND YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE LIVING! THE ONLY GOOD WEREWOLF IS A DEAD ONE, AND I HOPE YOU DIE A MOST HORRIBLE DEATH AND SUFFER IN HELL WHERE YOU BELONG!"_

Bianca turned very pale and when the Howler ended and became ashes, her face crumpled and she dashed out the Great Hall. Luna instantly ran after her. The rest of Unity exchanged looks and then gathered their things and went after her. They found Bianca in the Room of Requirement, sobbing on the shoulder of her best friend, who said gently, "It'll be all right, Bianca. Be who you are, since those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. Unity's here for you all the way and we'll support you."

Su said firmly, "Bianca, don't pay any attention to those idiots. They're prejudiced -" and here she said something in Chinese that was no doubt uncomplimentary - "who ought to be turned into cockroaches and stepped on. Whomever sent that Howler should be the one that has a horrible death and suffer in Hell."

"I hope he or she gets reincarnated as a dung beetle," muttered Parvati, eyes glittering angrily. "And then gets stepped on a minute later and is reincarnated into a dung beetle again."

"It's a she," said Ry. "At least, I think so, since it sounded a lot like the voice of Madam Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to Minister Fudge. She acts and sounds all sweet, but she's a very unpleasant woman who is definitely prejudiced. Mother and Father don't like her, but they have to deal with her sometimes."

Mari made a face. "She and Minister Fudge came around for dinner once, a couple of weeks before the Quidditch World Cup, and after they'd left, Uncle Tomi said that he'd rather hang himself than go through that again. And Aunt Yuki said that she had to refrain from hexing Umbridge after that comment she made against 'half-breeds' when explaining why she wrote the law making it practically impossible for werewolves to get employment in the British wizarding world."

Paul Dunmore, a Gryffindor third-year, took a seat next to Bianca and Luna. He took Bianca's hand and asked, "Is there anything that you want us to do, Bianca?"

She lifted her head and sniffled loudly. "Just being here and standing by me is enough, Paul." She dug out a handkerchief with her free hand and wiped her eyes. "Thank you, everyone. You guys are the greatest friends ever." A determined look came to her face. "I won't let Rita Skeeter get to me. I'll take the advice Hagrid's father gave him."

The rest of Unity looked relieved that she was feeling better and after a few more minutes, the group left for their respective classes.

Author's Note: One reader requested a list of everyone in Unity, and a friend asked the same. So for their benefit, plus any other curious readers out there, here is the complete list.

Fourth-years by house: Gryffindor- Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Ryouto (Ry) Hirashi, Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Sally-Ann Perks. Ravenclaw- Padma Patil, Mandy Brocklehurst, Su Li, Morag MacDougal, Lisa Turpin, James Lydell-Black, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Croner. Hufflepuff- Kyle Melling, Ernie Macmillian, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones. Slytherin- Mariko (Mari) Kishi, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, Ronald (Ron) Weasley, Blaise Zabini, Theodore (Theo) Nott

Third-years by house: Gryffindor- Ginevra (Ginny) Weasley, Elizabeth (Elspeth) McDowell, Nicola Foster, Heather Kilbourne, Colin Creevy, Paul Dunmore, Francis Andrews. Ravenclaw- Wen-Jing Li, Adam Benson, Ian Selwyn, Ryan O'Conner, Luna Lovegood, Bianca Hammond. Hufflepuff- Claire Harper, Josephine (Jody) Stephans, Kyra Thames, Walter Lloyd, Owen Patterson. Slytherin- Tobias Fawcett, Derek Prince, Asteria Greengrass, Maeve Runcorn.

Japanese exchange students: fourth-years- Tamiko (Tami) Nakamura, Yoshiro Fujiwara, Keiko Satou, Arata Hirano, Chikako (Chika) Shintaro, Taiki (Tai) Shintaro (the last two are twins).

third-years- Daisuki Nakamura, Naomi Fujiwara, Ken Watamota, Hikari (Kari) Nakagawa, Sanburo Yamatato, Mimi Yamatato (the last two are cousins).


	16. Chapter 16

For the rest of the week, Bianca got more hate mail, but she didn't open them. However, some of them were more Howlers, who shouted insults for the entire hall to hear, most of them in the same vein as the first one had been. Several students, Sorrel Davidson among them, made comments against Bianca, but stopped when Unity members hexed them, or got told off by Stuart and Stella. In Sorrel's case, Stuart gave her a week's detention, and Stella took off thirty points from Ravenclaw.

On Wednesday morning, Daphne was flipping through her just delivered copy of the magazine _Witch Weekly_ when she gasped. After perusing the article that had caught her attention, she snapped, "That bloody reporter strikes again! Only this time she's decided to make Mari her target." She made duplicate copies of the article with a spell and passed them around so that everyone could read it. James mentally cursed again as he read the title.

_HOGWARTS CHAMPION JAMES LYDELL-BLACK'S SECRET HEARTACHE._

A quick glance through the article proved it to be about a supposed love triangle between James, Kyle, and Mari. It portrayed Mari in a bad light, basically saying that she was leading on her best friends. It added that she had been seen talking with Cedric Diggory and Hiroshi Satou, hinting strongly that she might be interested in the other champions. Pansy Parkinson was also quoted as saying that Mari wasn't very pretty, but was brainy and so would be well able to make a Love Potion. The end result was that Mari was shown as what Ron said his mother termed as a 'scarlet woman.'

"What utter nonsense," said Mari, tearing up her copy of the article. "Rita Skeeter needs to try a great deal harder if she wants to get back at me."

"Were you talking to Cedric and Hiroshi?" asked Kyle, looking slightly worried.

"Yes, but that was because they stopped the other Slytherins in Unity and me and asked us to pass on to Bianca that they don't care she's a werewolf and that they're on her side," answered Mari calmly. "I certainly wasn't alone with them. Skeeter conveniently left that part out."

"What I want to know is how she found all these things out," said Naomi. "Nobody told her that Hagrid is a half-giant and Bianca is a werewolf, or that the Slytherins in Unity was talking to Cedric and Hiroshi. So that means she was gift and overheard us. But nobody seen her."

"Excuse me?" asked Hannah, looking puzzled. "'She was gift'?"

"I think she means 'she was present'," answered Hermione. "She probably got her words mixed up or something. And Naomi, it's 'nobody saw her', not 'nobody seen her'."

"Oh," said Naomi. "I apologize for my errors in grammer. Thank you for correcting me, Mia." Since most of the Japanese members had difficulty pronouncing Hermione's name properly, she allowed them to shorten it to 'Mia'. "But how was this reporter able to witness things if we did not see her?"

"She probably had an Invisibility Cloak or Disillusioned herself," answered Elspeth. "At least when she overheard about Hagrid and Bianca."

"Hey guys, that stupid reporter wrote another article," interrupted Adam, who had picked up Daphne's discarded _Witch Weekly_ and flipped through it. "She must've decided to get back at James by attacking Sirius, and seems to have dragged Minister Kishi into it."

"_What_?" yelped James, reaching across the table to grab the magazine and see for himself. His eyes widened as he saw the title "SIRIUS BLACK AND THE JAPANESE MINISTER FOR MAGIC- TRUE LOVE OR A SHAM RELATIONSHIP?" He growled and then went on to read the article.

_There have been some very interesting going-ons between Japanese Minister for Magic, Reiko Kishi, and ex-Azkaban prisoner Sirius Black, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Black and Minister Kishi were spotted having lunch at a private room in the Leaky Cauldron the previous Saturday, and it seems such lunch dates are a weekly occurrence. The first couple of dates seemed to be nothing more than a typical meeting over lunch to discuss business, but then it developed into something more._

_Minister Kishi is a pretty woman, who is the youngest person, as well as the third female, to be elected Minister for Magic of Japan. She is a compentent minister, comparable to Artemista Lufkin, Britain's first female Minister for Magic, and is popular with most of the Japanese wizarding population. Why she would be interested in Black as a potential marriage prospect is a mystery._

_Sirius Black, on the other hand, comes from a family that was into the Dark Arts and supported He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named. His younger brother, Regulus, apparently was a Death Eater before his death. A cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, nee Black, is also a Death Eater, and currently imprisoned for life in Azkaban with her husband and brother-in-law for torturing famed Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity in order to gather information on their master's whereabouts after his downfall. Black, however, seems to be one of the few members of the family that isn't into the Dark Arts. That does not mean that he is totally innocent, though._

_Black befriended Remus Lupin, a werewolf, at Hogwarts, and was the one that suggested that another friend, Peter Pettigrew, be the Secret-Keeper for the Potters, who went on to betray their location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. His choice in friends appears questionable. His choice in a girlfriend is not, but why he picked Minister Kishi seems to have nothing to do with the fact that she is beautiful and intelligent. _

_It appears that he is only interested in her because she is the Japanese Minister of Magic, and because he has some influence and money of his own, was able to charm her into liking him. Added to that is the fact that his adopted son and distant cousin James Lydell-Black is one of the champions of the Quartet Quest. Minister Kishi seems to have taken a liking to him when she met him when he was visiting Japan with their ambassadors to Britain, and her and Black's concern over James's entry seem to have been the reason for the weekly lunch meetings in the first place._

_Perhaps Black is using that fact to court Minister Kishi. In any case, we hope that she will be cautious with Black, and use her good sense to not rush into things. We also hope that James Lydell-Black will not allow himself to be used by his guardian._

James threw down the magazine in disgust and Mari immediately snatched it up to read the article. He sighed, knowing the article could have been worse. At least Rita Skeeter hadn't insulted Minister Kishi in any way, and in fact had said rather nice things about her. Then again, insulting a foreign Minister could cause an international incident, and Skeeter would be in trouble for being the one that had done so. Not only would she be banned from writing publicly ever again, but she could very well serve a term in Azkaban and pay a large fine.

"What did that awful woman write about?" asked Blaise.

"She saw Sirius and Minister Kishi at the Leaky Cauldron, having their Saturday lunch date," answered James. "Somehow she also figured out that the weekly dates started out as just business meetings, but then developed into more than that. It wouldn't be so bad except Skeeter made Sirius out to be someone who was only interested in Minister Kishi because she's the Japanese Minister for Magic, and might be using the fact that she's concerned about my entry in the Quartet Quest to court her. Skeeter also brought up Sirius's family, and how he's friends with Remus and was the one that suggested Wormtail to be Secret-Keeper. The only thing she didn't do was insult Minister Kishi."

"Ms. Skeeter needs to get her facts straight," said Luna calmly. "It's quite obvious that Mr. Black really loves Minister Kishi, and not because she's an important person. He loves her intelligence and beauty and how she makes him laugh and the fact that they balance each other out. She's his superior in some things, he's her superior in others, and they're both equal in the rest. And Minister Kishi loves how he looks past her title and treats her like a regular person and helps her relax and so forth."

"Thank you for that, Luna, but can we discuss how Skeeter is finding her information?" asked James. "I don't want to discuss my godfather's relationships and love life."

The only thing that Unity could come up with was that Rita Skeeter was using an invisibility cloak or Disillusioning herself to get her information, and none of those ways were illegal ones. In the end they gave up and James focused his attention back on his schoolwork and preparing for the second task.

Sirius and Mari's aunt and uncle sued Rita Skeeter and _Witch Weekly_ for libel. The case was dropped when Skeeter promised not to wrote any more aritcles involving Sirius, Mari, or her relatives, and _Witch Weekly_ banned Skeeter from ever writing for them again and gave Mari and Mrs. Hirashi each a free year's subscription. The magazine also printed a retraction of sorts in their next issue, where Minister Kishi had given an interview saying that details of her private life was not to be published in any magazine of newspaper without her permission and that her relationship with Sirius wasn't a sham, but instead was rather the real thing. She had also added that her cousin would never play with the affections of anyone.

Valentine's Day fell on a Friday, and Unity exchanged the platonic valentine cards they had made for each other, besides the ones that Kyle and Mari exchanged to each other. (Since they were dating, their cards weren't platonic at all.) After lessons that day, Kyle and Mari went off on their own to celebrate the holiday.

Then the day of the second task arrived and James nervously donned his swimming trunks underneath his sweater and jeans, with the gillyweed and the knife Sirius had sent him in his pocket. Out by the lake, James looked around the stands and saw what seemed to be all of Unity and Remus and Sirius cheering him on. When Ludo Bagman announced the start of the task, James quickly removed his sweater, jeans, shoes, and socks, did a warming Charm, swallowed the gillyweed, and waded out into the water, wand and knife in hand.

As soon as he was immersed in the lake, it was much easier to breathe, and he saw that his feet and hands were webbed and he felt gills in his throat. After getting his bearings and fighting off a grindylow, he set out in the direction he guessed the merpeople were.

He swam on for what felt like at least twenty minutes. He was passing over vast expanses of black mud now, which swirled murkily as he disturbed the water. Then, at long last, he heard a snatch of haunting mersong.

"_An hour long you_'_ll have to look, _

_And to recover what we took…" _

James swam faster and soon saw a large rock emerge out of the muddy water ahead. It had paintings of merpeople on it; they were carrying spears and chasing what looked like the giant squid. He swam on past the rock, following the mersong.

"… _your time_'_s half gone, so tarry not _

_Lest what you seek stays here to rot…"_

A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. Here and there at the dark windows, James saw faces… faces that bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the prefects' bathroom…

The merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. They leered at James as he swam past; one or two of them emerged from their caves to watch him better, their powerful, silver fish tails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.

Hw sped on, staring around, and soon the dwellings became more numerous; there were gardens of weed around some of them, and he even saw a pet grindylow tied to a stake outside one door.

Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching him eagerly, pointing at his webbed hands and gills, talking behind their hands to one another. James sped around a corner and a very strange sight met his eyes.

A whole crowd of merpeople was floating in front of the houses that lined what looked like a mer-version of a village square. A choir of merpeople was singing in the middle, calling the champions toward them, and behind them rose a crude sort of statue; a gigantic merperson hewn from a boulder. Five people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone merperson. He recognized four of the five, which were Keiko, his twin siblings, and Cho Chang. The fifth was a girl who looked no older than eight, whose clouds of silvery hair made James feel sure that she was Fleur Delacour's sister. All four of them appeared to be in a very deep sleep. Their heads were lolling onto their shoulders, and fine streams of bubbles kept issuing from their mouths.

James sped toward the hostages, half expecting the merpeople to lower their spears and charge at him, but they did nothing. The ropes of weed tying the hostages to the statue were thick, slimy, and very strong. He raised his knife, then realized that he didn't know which person he was to save. Well, he knew that Fleur and Hiroshi would have to save their siblings, and Cedric would likely have to save Cho. That left Stuart and Stella.

James couldn't help making a face as he realized that Stella would have to be the one that Krum had to save, since the two were currently dating. He sighed and then focused his attention on Stuart, hacking away at the bindings with the knife. After several minutes' hard work, they broke apart. Stuart floated, unconscious, a few inches above the lake bottom, drifting a little in the ebb of the water.

James looked around. There was no sign of any of the other champions. What were they playing at? Why didn't they hurry up?

He turned back to Stella, raised the jagged rock, and began to hack at her bindings too –

At once, several pairs of strong gray hands seized him. Half a dozen mermen were pulling him away from Stella, shaking their green-haired heads, and laughing.

"You take your own hostage," one of them said to him. "Leave the others…"

"No way!" said James furiously - but only two large bubbles came out.

"Your task is to retrieve your brother… leave the others…"

"But she's my sister!" Harry yelled, gesturing toward Stella, an enormous silver bubble emerging soundlessly from his lips. "And that's my friend, and I don't want the rest to die either!"

Cho's head was on Stella's shoulder; the small silver-haired girl was ghostly green and pale. James struggled to fight off the mermen, but they laughed harder than ever, holding him back. James looked wildly around. Where were the other champions? Would he have time to take Stuart to the surface and come back down for Hermione and the others? Would he be able to find them again? He looked down at his watch to see how much time was left - it had stopped working.

But then the merpeople around him pointed excitedly over his head. James looked up and saw Cedric and Hiroshi swimming toward them. There was an enormous bubble around each of their heads, which meant that they had used the Bubble-Head Charm.

"Got lost!" Cedric mouthed, looking panic-stricken. "Fleur and Krum're coming now!"

Feeling enormously relieved, James watched Cedric and Hiroshi pull out knives from their pockets and cut Cho and Keiko free. They pulled the girls upward and out of sight.

James looked around, waiting. Where were Fleur and Krum? Time was getting short, and according to the song, the hostages would be lost after an hour…

The merpeople started screeching animatedly. Those holding James loosened their grip, staring behind them. James turned and saw something monstrous cutting through the water toward them: a human body in swimming trunks with the head of a shark… It was Krum. He appeared to have transfigured himself- but badly.

The shark-man swam straight to Stella and began snapping and biting at her ropes; the trouble was that Krum's new teeth were positioned very awkwardly for biting anything smaller than a dolphin, and James was quite sure that if Krum wasn't careful, he was going to rip Stella in half. Darting forward James hit Krum hard on the shoulder and held up his knife. Krum seized it and began to cut Stellafree. Within seconds, he had done it; he grabbed Stella around the waist, handed James the knife, and without a backward glance, began to rise rapidly with her toward the surface.

Now what? James thought desperately. If he could be sure that Fleur was coming… But still no sign. There was nothing to be done except…

He raised his knife, but the mermen now closed in around Stuart and the little girl, shaking their heads at him. James pulled out his wand.

"Get out of the way!"

Only bubbles flew out of his mouth, but he had the distinct impression that the mermen had understood him, because they suddenly stopped laughing. Their yellowish eyes were fixed upon James's wand, and they looked scared. There might be a lot more of them than there were of him, but he could tell, by the looks on their faces, that they knew no more magic than the giant squid did.

"You've got until three!" James shouted; a great stream of bubbles burst from him, but he held up three fingers to make sure they got the message. "One…" (he put down a finger) "two…" (he put down a second one) - They scattered. He darted forward and began to hack at the ropes binding the small girl to the statue, and at last she was free. He seized the little girl around the waist, grabbed the neck of Stuart's robes, and kicked off from the bottom.

It was very slow work. He could no longer use his webbed hands to propel himself forward; he worked his flippers furiously, but Stuart and Fleur's sister were like potato-filled sacks dragging him back down… He fixed his eyes skyward, though he knew he must still be very deep, the water above him was so dark…

Merpeople were rising with him. He could see them swirling around him with ease, watching him struggle through the water… Would they pull him back down to the depths when the time was up? Did they perhaps eat humans?

James's legs were seizing up with the effort to keep swimming; his shoulders were aching horribly with the effort of dragging Stuart and the girl… He was drawing breath with extreme difficulty. He could feel pain on the sides of his neck again… he was becoming very aware of how wet the water was in his mouth… yet the darkness was definitely thinning now… he could see daylight above him…

He kicked hard with his flippers and discovered that they were nothing more than feet… water was flooding through his mouth into his lungs… he was starting to feel dizzy, but he knew light and air were only ten feet above him… he had to get there… he had to… James kicked his legs so hard and fast it felt as though his muscles were screaming in protest; his very brain felt waterlogged, he couldn't breathe, he needed oxygen, he had to keep going, he could not stop –

And then he felt his head break the surface of the lake; wonderful, cold, clear air was making his wet face sting; he gulped it down, feeling as though he had never breathed properly before, and, panting, pulled Stuart and the little girl up with him. All around him, wild, green-haired heads were emerging out of the water with him, but they were smiling at him.

The crowd in the stands was making a great deal of noise; shouting and screaming, they all seemed to be on their feet; James had the impression they thought that Stuart and the little girl might be dead, but they were wrong… both of them had opened their eyes; the girl looked scared and confused, but Stuart merely expelled a great spout of water, blinked in the bright light, turned to James, and asked, "How did it go?" Then he spotted Fleur's sister. "What did you bring her for?"

"Fleur didn't turn up, I couldn't leave her," James panted.

"James, you prat," said Stuart in exasperation, "you didn't take that song thing seriously, did you? Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have let any of us drown!"

"The song said -"

"It was only to make sure you got back inside the time limit!" snapped Stuart. "I really hope you didn't waste time down there acting the hero!"

James felt both stupid and annoyed. It was all very well for Stuart; he'd been asleep, he hadn't felt how eerie it was down in the lake, surrounded by spear-carrying merpeople who'd looked more than capable of murder.

"C'mon," James said shortly, "help me with her, I don't think she can swim very well."

They pulled Fleur's sister through the water, back toward the bank where the judges stood watching, twenty merpeople accompanying them like a guard of honor, singing their horrible screechy songs. He could see Madam Pomfrey fussing over Stella, Krum, Keiko, Hiroshi, Cedric, and Cho, all of whom were wrapped in thick blankets.

Dumbledore and Ludo Bagman stood beaming at James and Stuart from the bank as they swam nearer. Meanwhile Madame Maxime was trying to restrain Fleur Delacour, who was quite hysterical, fighting tooth and nail to return to the water.

"Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she 'urt?"

"She's fine!" James tried to tell her, but he was so exhausted he could hardly talk, let alone shout.

Dumbledore and Bagman were pulling James upright; Fleur had broken free of Madame Maxime and was hugging her sister.

"It was ze grindylows… zey attacked me… oh Gabrielle, I thought… I thought…"

That made James change his opinion of Fleur. She might act all haughty and stuck-up, but she did care deeply for her family, so perhaps she wasn't all bad.

"Come here, you," said Madam Pomfrey. She seized James and pulled him over to Stella and the others, wrapped him so tightly in a blanket that he felt as though he were in a straitjacket, and forced a measure of very hot potion down his throat. Steam gushed out of his ears.

Stella kissed Krum on the lips and then turned to her younger brother. "What took you so long, James? You're well outside the time limit. Did it take you ages to find us?"

"No… I found you okay…"

James's feeling of stupidity was growing. Now he was out of the water, it seemed perfectly clear that Dumbledore's safety precautions wouldn't have permitted the death of a hostage just because their champion hadn't turned up. Why hadn't he just grabbed Stuart and gone? He would have been first back… Cedric, Hiroshi, and Krum hadn't wasted time worrying about anyone else; they hadn't taken the mersong seriously…

Keiko and Hiroshi came over, slight frowns on their faces. "Hiroshi says you were the first to reach the hostages," said Keiko. "So why were you the last to return?"

"I just wanted to make sure all the hostages were okay," responded James.

"You do realize that none of the headmasters or headmistresses would have let any of the hostages drown?" asked Hiroshi.

"I do now," muttered James, even more annoyed.

Dumbledore was crouching at the water's edge, deep in conversation with what seemed to be the chief merperson, a particularly wild and ferocious-looking female. He was making the same sort of screechy noises that the merpeople made when they were above water; clearly, Dumbledore could speak Mermish. Finally he straightened up, turned to his fellow judges, and said, "A conference before we give the marks, I think."

The judges went into a huddle. Madam Pomfrey gave Stuart a blanket and some Pepperup Potion, then went to fetch Fleur and her sister. Fleur had many cuts on her face and arms and her robes were torn, but she didn't seem to care, nor would she allow Madam Pomfrey to clean them.

"Look after Gabrielle," she told her, and then she turned to James. "You saved 'er," she said breathlessly. "Even though she was not your 'ostage."

"Yeah," said James, who was now heartily wishing he'd left all four girls tied to the statue.

Fleur bent down, kissed James twice on each cheek (he felt his face burn and wouldn't have been surprised if steam was coming out of his ears again), then said to Stuart, "And you too-you 'elped-"

"Er, I guess," said Stuart, looking startled.

Fleur swooped down on him too and kissed him. Stella scowled, but just then, Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside them, making them all jump, and causing the crowd in the stands to go very quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of sixty for each of the champions, as follows…

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her thirty points."

Applause from the stands.

"I deserved zero," said Fleur throatily, shaking her magnificent head.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour."

Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd; James saw Cho give Cedric a glowing look. "We therefore award him fifty-seven points."

James's heart sank. If Cedric had been outside the time limit, he most certainly had been.

"Hiroshi Satou, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was second to return with his hostage, a couple of seconds behind Mr. Diggory. We award Mr. Satou fifty-five points."

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him fifty points."

Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.

"James Lydell-Black used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Lydell-Black was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."

Stuart and Stella both gave James half-exasperated, half-commiserating looks. Keiko shook her head.

"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However… Mr. Lydell-Black's score is fifty-five points."

James's stomach leapt - he was now tied for first place with Cedric. Stella and Stuart, caught by surprise, stared at James, then laughed and started applauding hard with the rest of the crowd. Headmistress Watoma beamed and nodded approvingly at James.

"There you go, James!" Stuart shouted over the noise. "You weren't being thick after all - you were showing moral fiber!"

Fleur was clapping very hard too, but Krum didn't look very happy at all. He attempted to engage Stella in conversation again, but she was too busy cheering her younger brother to listen.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

It was over, James thought dazedly, as Madam Pomfrey began herding the champions and hostages back to the castle to get into dry clothes… it was over, he had got through… he didn't have to worry about anything now until June the twenty-fourth... He couldn't wait to celebrate with the rest of Unity.


	17. Chapter 17

After the second task, Unity devoted their time outside of lessons and homework with helping James prepare for the third task. This took so much precedence that outside of class, almost every moment was spent in the Room of Requirement. Dobby, with the help of some of the Hogwarts elves, brought all their meals except for lunch on weekdays. Unity even went so far as sleeping in the Room, since by the time they realized they should go to bed, it was almost always after curfew and though they could all do the Disillusionment Charm to avoid getting caught by Filch or a teacher, it was much easier just stay where they were.

Remus and Sirius sent some suggestions as to spells that James might find useful, and he practiced them. He also tried telling Unity that they didn't have to devote so much time to helping him, but they just ignored it for the most part. Elspeth also pointed out that since there were so many of them, they weren't all helping at the same time, but rather taking turns, so it wasn't as if they weren't getting any time to relax or do things of their own.

Mari and Kyle couldn't help feeling that something bad was going to happen that was going to involve them and James, and so they spent every moment that didn't involve lessons, homework, meals, or sleeping with their best friend, working on various spells. When James protested that they didn't need to spend so much time with him and should take some time for themselves, Kyle rather tartly pointed out, "And if something horrible should happen to you, Merlin forbid, how do you think Mari and I would feel if we had taken some time off to enjoy ourselves? We'd blame ourselves for not spending the time with you."

"Furthermore, it's not like our relationship is going to fall into pieces," snapped Mari. "Kyle and I know that we love each other and nothing except death will separate us. So just be quiet and let us work with you. We've been a trio since we were six, and I don't intend to let anything break that up, even if Kyle and I are an item. However, if you should choose to spend some alone time with Luna, then Kyle and I will be happy to go off on our own and relax."

However, when James spoke to Luna about this, since he didn't want to neglect their relationship, she firmly said that she didn't need alone time with him until after the third task was over and done with. She knew that her relationship with James wasn't going to shatter, and it was far more important that he survive the Tournament.

Two days later, at lunchtime, Ron came in, frowning at a slab of chocolate in his hand. "What's the matter, Ron?" asked James.

Ron didn't answer, but Mari answered for him, "We were learning about nifflers in Care of Magical Creatures. They're creatures that can find treasure. Anyway, Hagrid had buried some leprechaun gold for the nifflers to find. Ron's niffler found the most, so Hagrid gave him the chocolate as a reward. Well, Goyle tried taking some gold, but Hagrid saw and informed him that it was leprechaun gold and would vanish after a few hours. Ron wasn't happy to hear that."

"But why?" asked Su with a frown.

"Remember the shower of gold the leprechauns did at the Quidditch World Cup and how people were gathering it up?" reminded Ry. "Well, Ron gave me some of that gold to pay me back for the Omniculars I gave him, since I bought one too many."

"Oh!" exclaimed Keiko in comprehension. "The gold would have disappeared. And I suppose you didn't tell Ron earlier?"

"Considering everything that happened after the match, of course I didn't," responded Ry. "I didn't even notice the money was gone. I was more worried about where my wand was, and then later about the Dark Mark and everything."

Ron finally spoke. "Must be nice. To have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing."

"I told you, I had other stuff on my mind that night!" snapped Ry impatiently. "We all did, remember?"

"And money isn't the most important thing in the world," said Luna quietly. "I would give all the gold in the world to have my mother still be alive."

Ron turned crimson and muttered, "Point taken. I'll shut up now."

Finally, in the last week of May, Professor Flitwick held James back in Charms.

"You are to go down to the Quidditch field tonight at nine o'clock, Mr. Lydell-Black," Flitwick told him. "Mr. Bagman will be there to tell the champions about the third task."

So at half past eight that night, James left Unity in the Room of Requirement and went downstairs. As he crossed the entrance hall, Cedric and Hiroshi came up from the Hufflepuff common room.

"What d'you reckon it's going to be?" Cedric asked James and Hiroshi as they went together down the stone steps, out into the cloudy night. "Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels; she reckons we've got to find treasure."

"That wouldn't be too bad," said James, thinking that he would simply ask Hagrid for a niffler to do the job for him.

They walked down the dark lawn to the Quidditch stadium, turned through a gap in the stands, and walked out onto the field.

"What've they done to it?" Cedric said indignantly, stopping dead.

The Quidditch field was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though somebody had been building long, low walls all over it that twisted and crisscrossed in every direction.

"They're hedges!" said James, bending to examine the nearest one.

"Hello there!" called a cheery voice.

Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the field with Krum and Fleur. James, Hiroshi, and Cedric made their way toward them, climbing over the hedges. Fleur beamed at James as he came nearer. Her attitude toward him had changed completely since he had saved her sister from the lake.

"Well, what d'you think?" said Bagman happily as the three boys climbed over the last hedge. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry," he added, grinning, spotting the less-than-happy expressions on James's and Cedric's faces, "you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"

No one spoke for a moment. Then -

"Maze," grunted Krum.

"That's right!" said Bagman. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the center of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."

"We simply 'ave to get through the maze?" said Fleur.

"There will be obstacles," said Bagman happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures… then there will be spells that must be broken… all that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champions who are leading on points will get a head start into the maze." Bagman grinned at Harry and Cedric. "Then Mr. Krum will enter… then Miss Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"

James, who knew only too well the kind of creatures that Hagrid was likely to provide for an event like this, thought it was unlikely to be any fun at all. However, he nodded politely like the other champions.

"Very well… if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly…"

Bagman hurried alongside James as they began to wend their way out of the growing maze. James had the feeling that Bagman was going to offer to help him again, but Hiroshi spoke first. "I have not spoken with my sister recently. She is spending much of her time with Unity, which I do not mind, but I have some things to discuss with her. Would you be so kind as to tell her that I would like to talk with her tomorrow, James?"

"Of course, Hiroshi," answered James. "I'll pass along the message."

Hiroshi smiled and continued, "I think Headmistress Watoma likes you better than she does me. She was pleased with how well you did in the first task, and was very impressed with your actions during the second task. Perhaps I should have made sure all the hostages would be rescued like you did, but I knew that no harm was going to come to them, so I didn't. However, Headmistress Watoma is of the idea that it was a very noble thing to do, and that I should have thought of it as well, since I _am _Japanese."

James almost choked, since the older boy had practically implied that James was acting more like a traditional Japanese wizard than he was.

"I agree," said Cedric unexpectedly. "Hufflepuffs are also supposed to be thoughtful of others and do noble things."

"So are Gryffindors," pointed out James hastily. "At least in the doing noble things department. And I only stayed behind to make sure all the hostages were safe because I took the stupid song seriously. If I had realized that none of the headmasters and mistresses would allow the hostages to be hurt, I would have just gotten Stuart and been first to return."

Bagman looked disappointed at not being able to get a word in edgewise and walked away. Cedric continued, "Still, it was a noble thing for you to do, James. And Fleur certainly appreciated you rescuing her sister and doesn't look down on you anymore for being younger than the rest of us."

James sighed and gave up. At the entrance hall, Cedric and Hiroshi left to go the Hufflepuff common room, while James went up to the Room of Requirement to tell Unity about the maze. Halfway there, he almost collided with Mari and Kyle, who looked very puzzled about something. "What's up, guys?" he asked.

Kyle pulled out a parchment from his pocket that James recognized as the Marauder's Map. "Something's wrong with the Map!"

"We were looking at it so we would know when you were returning," Mari explained hastily. "That's when we noticed something odd. Mr. Crouch's name is on there twice!"

Kyle pointed at a section of the Map that showed the Forbidden Forest, and right next to it was the name "Bartemius Crouch." Mari then pointed at another part that showed Moody's office, and James gasped to see the names "Bartemius Crouch" and "Alastor Moody" written on it.

"But that's impossible!" he exclaimed. "People's names aren't supposed to appear on the Map twice."

"There's only one explanation for this, and it doesn't make any sense," said Mari grimly. "You remember how Mr. Crouch had a son that got arrested as part of the group of Death Eaters that tortured Neville's parents into insanity? Well, his name was also Bartemius Crouch. The only problem is that Crouch Jr. died a few months later after being sent to Azkaban for life, and if it wasn't Azkaban we're talking about, I would think that he had faked his death."

"Well, Wormtail did escape from Azkaban," pointed out James.

"That's because he's an Animagus and the two idiot Aurors that were supposed to renew the spell on his cell that keeps him from transforming forgot to do it," snapped Kyle. "Anyway, we're going to see Professor Snape about this, since he's the only teacher we can trust to keep silent about us, and he can then alert Professor Dumbledore."

Unfortunately, Snape wasn't in his office when the trio went there. "Drat, where could he have gone?" demanded Mari.

"Maybe he's in the staff room, or he went to see Dumbledore," suggested James. "Or he could be in the Hospital Wing. Some of the potions he brews are for Madam Pomfrey to use for sick or injured students, and he could be making a delivery."

"Okay then, I'll go to the Hospital Wing," said Kyle. "You go to the staff room, Mari, and James you can go to the Dumbledore's office,"

However, there was no need to separate, for as soon as they reached the entrance hall, they saw Professor Snape coming down the stairs. The trio dashed over to him and James thrust the Map under Snape's nose. "Please don't confiscate it, Professor, since Sirius will be really mad with me and anyway, I don't really use it for rule-breaking. But there's something important that you should see."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Snape.

"The Marauders made a map that shows the location of everyone at Hogwarts and on the grounds," explained Mari. "James inherited it. Anyway, Kyle and I were looking at it so we'd know when James was coming back from being briefed about the third task, and we saw that Mr. Crouch's name was on there twice."

Snape's eye widened slightly and he looked at the two placed James pointed out. "Are you sure that there isn't some mistake?"

"No, the Map never lies," said James firmly. "Remus was the one that researched all the spells to make it, and you know how thorough and studious he is. And while my father and Sirius did behave like idiots, they did know their spellwork and were really good at it."

"That's true," said Snape grudgingly. "Very well, I will get Professor Dumbledore and look into the matter. As for this map, I will not confiscate it, but if I should ever find it in your possession in conjuction with rule-breaking, then I will have it sent to Lupin immediately with the orders to not let you have it for the rest of the time you are in school, Mr. Lydell-Black."

He strode off in the direction of Dumbledore's office and the trio went to the Room of Requirement, where James told Unity that the third task involved getting through a maze and being first to touch the Triwizard Cup. The trio decided not to mention what they'd discovered with the Map, at least not until Professor Snape told them what he and Dumbledore had done regarding Mr. Crouch.


	18. Chapter 18

The next day, Snape took James aside. "There is some bad news. After I informed Professor Dumbledore of Mr. Crouch's presence, we went to Moody's office. However, when we got there, the only person there was Moody, and a quick search showed that Crouch wasn't hiding anywhere in the office. After that, Dumbledore asked Moody to join us as we looked for Crouch on the grounds. I did find Crouch, who was acting quite oddly, but before I could alert Dumbledore, someone Stunned me. I woke up to find Dumbledore, Moody, and Hagrid, who had been recruited to join the search, bending over me, and no sign of Crouch at all. Hagrid was the one that found me, and alerted the other two."

"But what happened to Crouch?" demanded James. "Oh, why didn't I think of looking at the Map after telling you about it? Then maybe I would have a clue as to what occurred."

"It's not your fault that you didn't think of it," said Snape. "It didn't even occur to me to use the Map for that reason. In any case, I assume the person who attacked me then made off with Mr. Crouch. I'm sorry, Mr. Lydell. Now please just put this out of your mind and focus on preparing for the third task. I do not want anything bad to happen to you. Your mother sacrificed herself in order that you might live, and I promised Dumbledore for her sake that I would do my best protect you. And since you are more like your mother than your father, it is easier for me to carry out my promise."

James did not comment on the last sentence, since Snape had a point. Before James Potter had matured, he had acted like a git, and even when he had matured, he still despised Snape. Even though Snape fought back and had occasionally instigated things, it still didn't excuse the bullying Sirius and Potter had done to him.

"I'll be careful, Professor," James Lydell said instead. "Unity's helping me get ready anyway."

"Good, I am glad that you have friends to help you. You are dismissed, Mr. Lydell."

The next afternoon, right after the conclusion of lessons, Unity was in the Room of Requirement as usual, when Mari dropped the book she was perusing and gasped. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her. "Did you find something to help me with the task?" asked James.

Mari shook her head. "It's something else. You know how I sometimes get these feelings, and then later they turn out to be true? Well, I just got another one. Give me your mirrors, James and Kyle." The two boys did so and Mari did a complicated spell on them. "Okay, I've turned them into something similiar to a Portkey. If anything terrible happens to one of us, the one in trouble is the grab their mirror and say 'Unity'. The other two will hear a chime and then grab their mirrors, which will instantly transport them to the side of the one in danger. And James, you must swear to do this if you are in any sort of terrible danger. Don't even think that you don't want Kyle and me in danger as well. How do you think we'd feel if you were in danger and we weren't there to help?"

"Point taken," said James with a sigh. "Okay, I swear on my magic and everything I find dear and holy to use my mirror if I'm in serious danger." A blue glow surrounded him for a second, signifying that it was a wizard's oath. Mari then handed James and Kyle back their mirrors, reminding the boys to keep them on them at all times.

That night, James woke up to his scar hurting again, no doubt due to the dream he just had of Riddle torturing Wormtail over some blunder the latter had made. He shook Mari and Kyle awake and took to a private corner of the Room of Requirement, where he set up a Silencing Charm in order to not wake up the rest of Unity with their conversation.

James hurriedly explained about the dream. "I see," said Kyle darkly, looking grim.

Mari, on the other hand, looked alarmed. "Great, why do my feelings have to come true all the time?" The alarmed look then was replaced by one of grim determination. "Be on your guard, James, especially during the third task. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. And remember to use your mirror to summon Kyle and me if something does happen. The two of us will be at your side in an instant and we will do our best to help you."

"But what about you guys?" protested James. "I will summon you, of course, but I don't want anything to happen to you two. You've got your whole lives ahead of you."

Kyle sighed. "Look, James, you are our best friend. We will always stand by you. And if you're so worried that Mari and I won't get to experience everything in life, then maybe this will help." He pulled a button from his pajamas and transfigured it into a silvery ring with a fake ruby on it. "Mariko Kishi, will you marry me?"

Mari blinked in surprise, but understood what Kyle was getting at. "Yes I will, Kyle." She let him slip the ring on her finger, while James stared at them in shock.

"There," said Kyle. "Mari and I are engaged. That's one major thing in life that we've experienced."

"T-that's not what I meant!" sputtered James. "And you guys are only fifteen!"

"Calm down, James," said Mari. "It's not like we're going to get married tomorrow. We'd have to wait at least two years, since we're not of age, and neither of our parents will let us get married before that. The point is, Kyle and I know what we're doing, and we plan to experience things like what just happened regardless of the fact that we could die tomorrow just because we're your friends and refuse to desert you."

James was about to argue some more, but then gave up. Nothing he could say would change his friends' minds, and anyway, he understood their point and knew that he would need their help. Instead, he merely said, "All right, I agree. But you had better make me your best man at the wedding, Kyle."

Kyle chuckled. "As if I would pick someone else." With that, the Silencing Charm was removed and the three returned to bed.

James spent the next three weeks further preparing for the third task when he wasn't in class, doing homework, eating rather hurried meals, and sleeping. As usual, Mari and Kyle helped him, and didn't even bother revising for the end-of-year exams. When James pointed this out, Mari snapped, "You are more important than exams, James Evan. Furthermore, you know perfectly well that I've been reading and studying ahead ever since we started Hogwarts, and am tied with Hermione as top of our year. I'm not going to fail an exam."

"And I'm not going to fail, either," added Kyle. "Granted, I might not do as well as I could if I had spent time revising, but I know all the material, and I just want to get you through this."

The rest of Unity didn't have this problem. After all, it was impractical to have sixty-three people train someone at the same time, so as usual, they took turns helping Mari and Kyle with the training and revised when they weren't helping.

Exam week arrived and as James was excused from taking them since he was in the Quartet Quest, he spent the time reading various Defence books or going over spells that he might need to do during the Third Task. The final day of exams, as well as when the Third Task was going to be held, the families of the champions all arrived. James walked into the room off the Great Hall to find Fleur chattering to her parents in French and her younger sister was holding to their mother's hand. Gabrielle waved at James, who grinned and waved back.

Viktor Krum was talking with his parents in rapid Bulgarian. He had inherited his father's hooked nose. Hiroshi was in another corner with his parents, who had serene looks on their faces, and Cedric and his parents were there as well, as Hiroshi was introducing his friend.

James didn't notice anything more about the other champions, as Sirius enveloped him in a bear hug. Next to them stood a beaming Remus, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill. When Sirius let go, James asked, "Why are you here, Mrs. Weasley? I mean, I am thrilled to see you, but I wasn't expecting you to show up."

"I just wanted to see how you would do in the third task, and Sirius invited Bill and me to come along," answered Mrs. Weasley.

James was about to take Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill for a walk around the castle when Mr. Diggory stopped them. "There you are, are you?" he said, looking James up and down."Bet you're not feeling quite as full of yourself now Cedric's caught you up on points, are you?"

"What?" asked James, confused.

"Ignore him," said Cedric in a low voice to James, frowning after his father. "He's been angry ever since Rita Skeeter's article about the Quartet Quest – you know, when she made out you were the only Hogwarts champion."

"Didn't bother to correct her, though, did he?" said Amos Diggory, loudly enough for James to hear as he started to walk out of the door with Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill. "Still… you'll show him, Ced."

"Rita Skeeter goes out of her way to cause trouble, Amos!" Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!"

Sirius also opened his mouth to make a retort, but before he could do so, Mr. Satou said, "From what my children and Minister Kishi have told me, James seems to be a very nice young man. He is not the type to be, what was the phrase, 'full of himself'. Minister Kishi, in fact, made it very clear to me that James didn't want to be part of the Quartet Quest."

"Also, the reporter was corrected, was she not?" asked Mrs. Satou. "I believe she was sued for libel and the _Daily Prophet_ printed a retraction the next day."

Mr. Diggory had the grace to look a bit embarrassed and apolgetic. "Perhaps I was mistaken," he said grudgingly. "My apolgies, James Lydell-Black."

"It's all right," said James politely and then followed the others out the door.

The group walked around the grounds, Mrs. Weasley intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she left school. Sirius told James that the Ministry was still looking into Mr. Crouch's disappearance, albeit quietly, and that Cornelius Fudge was going to fill in as the sixth judge. Mrs. Weasley explained that Percy wasn't doing it as the Ministry wouldn't let him, adding that he had been hauled in for questioning about the instructions Mr. Crouch had been sending in, as there was the chance they weren't genuinely written by him.

Remus then added that Minister Kishi was going to present for the task, partly to support Hiroshi, who was her third cousin once removed, and partly because of her worry over what might befall James. Naturally, James wasn't surprised by this news, for he'd been expecting that she'd do something of the sort. The group then returned to the castle for lunch, sitting at the table with the rest of Unity.


	19. Chapter 19

At the evening feast, James saw that Mr. and Mrs. Hirashi were present along with Ludo Bagman, Cornelius Fudge, and Minister Kishi. Bagman looked quite cheerful, but Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to Madame Maxime, looked stern and was not talking. Madame Maxime was concentrating on her plate, and James thought her eyes looked red. Hagrid kept glancing along the table at her. Minister Kishi looked paler than usual and had slightly worried expression on her face as she picked at her food and carried a conversation with the Hirashis in Japanese, based on the way their lips were moving, as they were too far away for James to hear what they were saying.

There were more courses than usual, but James, who was starting to feel really nervous now, didn't eat much. As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Quartet Quest. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

James got up. Unity was applauding him and Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley and Bill all wished him luck. Keiko hugged both him and her brother, causing Mr. Satou to a raise a brow, and said, "Good luck, Hiroshi and James. I hope one of you win." James managed a feeble smile and he and Hiroshi headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor.

"Feeling all right. James?" Bagman asked as they went down the stone steps onto the grounds. "Confident?"

"I'm okay," said James. It was sort of true; he was nervous, but he kept running over all the hexes and spells he had been practicing in his mind as they walked, and the knowledge that he could remember them all made him feel better.

They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"

The champions nodded.

"Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers.

"Good luck, James," Hagrid whispered, and the four of them walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze. Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with ninety-five points each - Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. James Lydell-Black, both of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second place, with ninety points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "In third place, with eighty-five points, Mr. Hiroshi Satou, of the Tokyo School of Magic! And in fourth place – Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

"So… on my whistle, James and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three - two - one -"

He gave a short blast on his whistle, and James and Cedric hurried forward into the maze.

The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment they entered the maze. James felt almost as though he were underwater again. He pulled out his wand, muttered, "Lumos," and heard Cedric do the same just behind him.

After about fifty yards, they reached a fork. They looked at each other.

"See you," James said, and he took the left one, while Cedric took the right.

(Please read chapter 31 of _Goblet of Fire_ on what happens in the maze, since it is virtually the same as the book and I don't feel like writing everything out.)

When the giant spider was defeated, Cedric helped James stand up, while Hiroshi bent down and examined James's injured leg. He then pointed his wand at the leg and muttered a spell. The cut instantly healed and some of the blood and spider secretion disappeared.

"Is that better, James?" asked Hiroshi. "I know some healing spells, since my mother taught me some, and I want to become a Healer like her when I graduate."

"Thanks, Hiroshi," said James. "Oh, thanks Cedric," he added, as Cedric Scourgified and magically mended James's robes.

Hiroshi straightened and glanced at the Triwizard Cup. Something flickered in his eyes for a second and then he sighed loudly. "What are we going to do about this? Fleur and Krum are out of the task, leaving only us, and we have helped each other to get this far. I do not want to win at all, since it was not based completely on my own merits."

"I don't either," said Cedric, also sighing. "Maybe we should just let James win. He passed on the news about the dragons, and stayed behind to make sure all the hostages-"

"That was only because I was thick enough to take the song seriously!" interrupted James. "I wasn't even thinking about being noble or anything! Look, I have the perfect solution to our dilemma. Since the three of us helped each other get this far, why don't we just tie for it? We'll grab the Cup together at the same time. Professor Dumbledore and Headmistress Watoma would be pleased with the result, since they sincerely believe in international cooperation and aren't in it just to win and show that their schools are the best."

"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Cedric, his and Hiroshi's eyes lighting up.

The three of them made their way to the plinth where the Triwizard Cup was resting, James being supported by the other two as his leg was still a bit wobbly despite having been healed. Hiroshi and James each held out a hand over the handles, while Cedric held out a hand over a side. On the count of three, the trio grasped the Cup. Instantly, James felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, Cedric and Hiroshi at his sides.

James felt his feet slam into the ground; his still wobbly leg gave way, and he fell forward; his hand let go of the Triwizard Cup at last. He raised his head.

"Where are we?" he asked.

Cedric and Hiroshi shook their heads. They got up, pulled James to his feet, and they looked around. They had left the Hogwarts grounds completely; they had obviously traveled miles - perhaps hundreds of miles - for even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone. They were standing instead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose above them to their left. James could just make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside.

Cedric looked down at the Triwizard Cup and then up at James.

"Did anyone tell you the cup was a Portkey?" he asked.

"Nope," said James. He was looking around the graveyard. It was completely silent and slightly eerie. "Is this supposed to be part of the task?"

"I dunno," said Cedric. He sounded slightly nervous. "Wands out, d'you reckon?"

"Yes," said Hiroshi, drawing his wand and looking around warily.

James not only took out his wand, but also grabbed the three-way mirror in his pocket, which fortunately had an Unbreakable Charm on it, so it hadn't shattered when the giant spider had dropped him. He whispered, "Unity", and about five seconds later, Mari and Kyle appeared, their mirrors clutched in their hands.

James started explaining why his best friends appeared when Mari hushed him. "Someone's coming!"

Squinting tensely through the darkness, they watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward them between the graves. James couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, he could tell that it was carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to obscure his face. And - several paces nearer, the gap between them closing all the time - James saw that the thing in the persons arms looked like a baby… or was it merely a bundle of robes?

They exchanged puzzled looks, except for Mari, who looked alarmed, and then turned back to watch the approaching figure. It stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feet from them. For a second the group of five and the short figure simply looked at one another. Without warning, James's scar exploded in pain and he clutched his left arm, where his scar was currently residing, and fell to the ground.

From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, "Kill the spares. By that I mean the two older boys."

A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: "Avada Kedavra!"

A blast of green light blazed through James's eyelids, and he heard a cry and then something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished; terrified of what he was about to see, he opened his stinging eyes.

Cedric and Hiroshi were lying on the ground beside him, with Cedric on top. He was dead, for he had pushed his friend out of the way and taken the Killing Curse meant for Hiroshi. The Japanese boy wasn't moving, either, but in case it seemed that he had been knocked out when Cedric had pushed him. Before Hirohsi could be killed too, Mari silently put him under the Full-Body Bind and snapped, "Whoever you are, you are going to regret this!"

"Hah, you're going to be the one regretting this!" said the cold voice. "I had expected to trap the Lydell boy, but didn't expect that his two friends would show up as well. Wormtail, get working. The other two boys appear to be dead."

"You!" gasped Kyle, staring at the short man. "You're the one that betrayed your friends to Moldydork and let Sirius rot in prison for a crime he didn't commit!"

Wormtail ignored him, gagging the mouths of all three, stripping them of their wands, and then tying them to headstones, James to the middle one that had the name "Tom Riddle" inscribed.

(Refer to chapter 32 of the Goblet of Fire to read about the ceremony resurrecting Voldemort, since it's the same as the book until the part where the blood is added.)

Wormtail was gasping and moaning with agony. "B-blood of the enemy… forcibly taken… you will… resurrect your foe." He first approached Mari, the shining silver dagger shaking in his remaining hand. She yelled something through the gag, which sounded like a muffled, "Here, take it!" to James. Wormtail made a cut in Mari's arm, then fumbled a vial out of his pocket and caught some of the blood that dripped from the wound.

When Wormtail turned to James, he followed Mari's example, yelling,"Take it!" through his gag. He made no effort to fight back as a cut was made on his arm and a few drops of blood were collected. Then Wormtail turned to Kyle, who apparently did the same thing, though James wasn't quite sure if his friend had yelled "Take it!" or something else.

Wormtail staggered back to the cauldron with the trio's blood. He poured it inside. The liquid within turned, instantly, a blinding white. Wormtail, his job done, dropped to his knees beside the cauldron, then slumped sideways and lay on the ground, cradling the bleeding stump of his arm, gasping and sobbing.

The cauldron was simmering, sending its diamond sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness. Nothing happened…

Let it have drowned, James thought, let it have gone wrong… After all, the trio had willingly given up their blood and not exactly had it 'forcibly taken'.

And then, suddenly, the sparks emanating from the cauldron were extinguished. A surge of white steam billowed thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything in front of James, so that he couldn't see Wormtail or Cedric or anything but vapor hanging in the air… It's gone wrong, he thought… it's drowned… please… please let it be dead…

But then, through the mist in front of him, he saw, with an icy surge of terror, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron.

"Robe me," said the high, cold voice, slightly tinged with pain, from behind the steam, and Wormtail, sobbing and moaning, still cradling his mutilated arm, scrambled to pick up the black robes from the ground, got to his feet, reached up, and pulled them one-handed over his master's head.

The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at the trio… and James stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for three years. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snakes with slits for nostrils… Lord Voldemort had risen again.

Author's Note: Hiroshi came to a few seconds later after being knocked out, but because he was under the Full-Body Bind, he couldn't do anything. However, he can still see and hear everything, which means he is also a witness to Voldemort's rebirth. Since Voldemort was in a hurry to get the ritual started and Mari had distracted him, he forgot that only one Killing Curse had been performed. I suppose that's a weak excuse, but for the purposes of this fic and its sequels Hiroshi needs to be alive. I didn't really want to kill Cedric, but in the end I kept it the same as the books since I spared Hiroshi and Cedric being alive wasn't really crucial to the plot of this series.


	20. Chapter 20

Voldemort looked away from the trio and began examining his own body. His hands were like large, pale spiders, his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; the red eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cat's, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness. He held up his hands and flexed the fingers, his expressions rapt and exultant. He took not the slightest notice of Wormtail, who lay twitching and bleeding on the ground, nor of the great snake, which had slithered back into sight and was circling the trio again, hissing. He didn't even seem to notice that he had a slight shortness of breath, as he was breathing a bit louder and heavier than the regular person in fairly good health.

Voldemort slipped one of those unnaturally long-fingered hands into a deep pocket and drew out a wand. He caressed it gently too; and then he raised it, and pointed it at Wormtail, who was lifted off the ground and thrown against the headstone where James was tied; he fell to the foot of it and lay there, crumpled up and crying. Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon James, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh that soon turned into a cough. Once the cough ended, he frowned for several seconds before dismissing it.

Wormtail's robes were shining with blood now; he had wrapped the stump of his arm in them.

"My Lord …" he choked, "My Lord … you promised … you did promise …"

"Hold out your arm," said Voldemort lazily.

"Oh Master … thank you, Master …"

He extended the bleeding stump, but Voldemort laughed again. "The other arm, Wormtail."

"Master, please … _please_…" Voldemort bent down and pulled out Wormtail's left arm; he forced the sleeve of Wormtail's robes up past his elbow, and James saw something upon the skin there, something like a vivid red tattoo — a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth — the image that had appeared in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup; the Dark Mark. Voldemort examined it carefully, ignoring Wormtail's uncontrollable weeping.

"It is back," he said softly, "they will have all noticed it … and now, we shall see … now we shall know …" He pressed his long white forefinger to the brand on Wormtail's arm.

The scar on James's arm seared with sharp pain again, causing him to bite his lip in order to not cry out in pain, and Wormtail let out a fresh howl; Voldemort removed his fingers from Wormtail's mark, and James saw that it had turned jet black.

A look of cruel satisfaction on his face, Voldemort straightened up, threw back his head, and stared around at the dark graveyard.

"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" he whispered, his gleaming red eyes fixed upon the stars. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"

James wondered if Professor Snape would show up, or if he would wait until later to return to Voldemort's side. James hoped it would be the latter, since Snape couldn't do anything to rescue the trio without rousing Voldemort's suspicions, and the last thing James wanted (besides the deaths of his family and friends) was have Snape's cover as a spy blown.

Voldemort began to pace up and down before the trio and Wormtail, eyes sweeping the graveyard all the while. Mari snarled something through her gag, which came out muffled, but sounded like a curse in Japanese. Kyle also shouted something that also sounded like a curse, specifically "F--k you!" which startled James, as Kyle had never sworn like that before.

Voldemort paused in his pacing to glare at them. "Shut up or I'll-" What he would do they never found out, for he burst into a coughing fit. His eyes narrowed when it passed and he resumed pacing, stopping a minute later as he finally noticed that his breathing was labored, as if he had been sprinting for a minute instead of simply walking.

James perked up at this, for it meant that the potion hadn't worked quite the way as planned. Instead of Wormtail taking the blood forcibly, the trio had let him draw the blood, so it was now 'blood of the enemy, willingly given', more-or-less. So while Voldemort had been restored to a corporeal body, it was one that was a bit weak, which meant any physical movement tired him and laughing or talking in anything louder than a normal tone of voice made him cough.

He turned and stared at the trio, then magically removed the gags. "What did you brats do?" he shouted angrily. "Somehow you-" He broke into another fit of coughing.

When it was over, Mari snapped, "Well, for one thing, we let that idiot Wormtail take our blood, Moldydork! So it was given willingly, and not 'forcibly taken'!"

"HOW DARE YOU-" There was another fit of coughing, which made Kyle smirk.

Voldemort would have pursued the subject further, except the Death Eaters were Apparating into the graveyard. He quickly restored the gags and then decided to focus on his followers. Unfortunately, it didn't go quite well, for when he tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on one of them, he started coughing right after shouting "Crucio!" The Death Eater in question only suffered one second of pain, as Voldemort dropped his wand when he started coughing.

When the fit ended, Voldemort apparently realized that he had to keep his voice down to prevent the coughing fits, for he lowered his voice to say, "Get up, Avery. Stand up. You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years… I want thirteen years' repayment before I forgive you. Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?"

He looked down at Wormtail, who continued to sob.

"You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, Master," moaned Wormtail, "please. Master… please…"

"Yet you helped return me to my body," said Voldemort coolly, watching Wormtail sob on the ground. "Worthless and traitorous as you are, you helped me… and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers…"

Voldemort raised his wand again and whirled it through the air. A streak of what looked like molten silver hung shining in the wand's wake. Momentarily shapeless, it writhed and then formed itself into a gleaming replica of a human hand, bright as moonlight, which soared downward and fixed itself upon Wormtail's bleeding wrist.

Wormtail's sobbing stopped abruptly. His breathing harsh and ragged, he raised his head and stared in disbelief at the silver hand, now attached seamlessly to his arm, as though he were wearing a dazzling glove. He flexed the shining fingers, then, trembling, picked up a small twig on the ground and crushed it into powder.

"My Lord," he whispered. "Master… it is beautiful… thank you… thank you…"

He scrambled forward on his knees and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes.

"May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail," said Voldemort.

"No, my Lord… never, my Lord…"

Wormtail stood up and took his place in the circle, staring at his powerful new hand, his face still shining with tears. Voldemort now approached the man on Wormtail's right.

"Lucius, my slippery friend," he whispered, halting before him. "I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you present a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture, I believe? Yet you never tried to find me, Lucius… Your exploits at the Quidditch World Cup were fun, I daresay… but might not your energies have been better directed toward finding and aiding your master?"

"My Lord, I was constantly on the alert," came Lucius Malfoy's voice swiftly from beneath the hood. "Had there been any sign from you, any whisper of your whereabouts, I would have been at your side immediately, nothing could have prevented me -"

"And yet you ran from my Mark, when a faithful Death Eater sent it into the sky last summer?" said Voldemort lazily, and Mr. Malfoy stopped talking abruptly. "Yes, I know all about that, Lucius… You have disappointed me… I expect more faithful service in the future."

"Of course, my Lord, of course… You are merciful, thank you…"

Voldemort moved on, and stopped, staring at the space - large enough for two people - that separated Malfoy and the next man.

"The Lestranges should stand here," said Voldemort quietly. "But they are entombed in Azkaban. They were faithful. They went to Azkaban rather than renounce me… When Azkaban is broken open, the Lestranges will be honored beyond their dreams. The dementors will join us… they are our natural allies… we will recall the banished giants… I shall have all my devoted servants returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all fear…"

He walked on. Some of the Death Eaters he passed in silence, but he paused before others and spoke to them.

"Macnair… destroying dangerous beasts for the Ministry of Magic now, Wormtail tells me? You shall have better victims than that soon, Macnair. Lord Voldemort will provide…"

"Thank you, Master… thank you," murmured Macnair.

"And here" - Voldemort moved on to the two largest hooded figures - "we have Crabbe… you will do better this time, will you not, Crabbe? And you, Goyle?"

They bowed clumsily, muttering dully.

"Yes, Master…"

"We will, Master…"

"The same goes for you, Nott," said Voldemort quietly as he walked past a stooped figure in Mr. Goyle's shadow.

"My Lord, I prostrate myself before you, I am your most faithful -"

"That will do," said Voldemort. "Though your son..."

"I will teach him to do better, My Lord."

James gasped, for that meant the stooped figure was Theo's father. He couldn't help contrasting the two. Mr. Nott was a devoted Death Eater, whereas Theo was loyal to Unity, no longer believed the tripe about pureblood supremacy that he had been told as a child, and was in general a nice person and a good friend.

He had reached the largest gap of all, and he stood surveying it with his blank, red eyes, as though he could see people standing there.

"And here we have six missing Death Eaters… three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return… he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever… he will be killed, of course… and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."

The Death Eaters stirred, and James saw their eyes dart sideways at one another through their masks.

"He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friend James Lydell arrived here tonight… though I wasn't quite expecting that his two friends would also show up, but it is an added bonus, considering the annoyance all three of them have been. Exactly like that blasted Harry Potter, wherever he is, except that they aren't considered my downfall."

"I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My curse was deflected by the woman's foolish sacrifice, and it rebounded upon myself. Aaah… pain beyond pain, my friends; nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost… but still, I was alive. What I was, even I do not know… I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal - to conquer death. And now, I was tested, and it appeared that one or more of my experiments had worked… for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it. Nevertheless, I was as powerless as the weakest creature alive, and without the means to help myself… for I had no body, and every spell that might have helped me required the use of a wand…

"I remember only forcing myself, sleeplessly, endlessly, second by second, to exist… I settled in a faraway place, in a forest, and I waited… Surely, one of my faithful Death Eaters would try and find me… one of them would come and perform the magic I could not, to restore me to a body… but I waited in vain…"

The shiver ran once more around the circle of listening Death Eaters. Voldemort let the silence spiral horribly before continuing.

"Only one power remained to me. I could possess the bodies of others. But I dared not go where other humans were plentiful, for I knew that the Aurors were still abroad and searching for me. I sometimes inhabited animals - snakes, of course, being my preference - but I was little better off inside them than as pure spirit, for their bodies were ill adapted to perform magic… and my possession of them shortened their lives; none of them lasted long…

"Then… four years ago… the means for my return seemed assured. A wizard - young, foolish, and gullible - wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home. Oh, he seemed the very chance I had been dreaming of… for he was a teacher at Dumbledore's school… he was easy to bend to my will… he brought me back to this country, and after a while, I took possession of his body, to supervise him closely as he carried out my orders. But my plan failed. I did not manage to steal the Philosopher's Stone. I was not to be assured immortal life. I was thwarted… thwarted, by James Lydell-Black, Mariko Kishi, and Kyle Melling."

Silence once more; nothing was stirring, not even the leaves on the yew tree. The Death Eaters were quite motionless, the glittering eyes in their masks fixed upon Voldemort, and upon the trio.

"The servant died when I left his body, and I was left as weak as ever I had been," Voldemort continued. "I returned to my hiding place far away, and I will not pretend to you that I didn't then fear that I might never regain my powers… Yes, that was perhaps my darkest hour… I could not hope that I would be sent another wizard to possess… and I had given up hope, now, that any of my Death Eaters cared what had become of me…"

One or two of the masked wizards in the circle moved uncomfortably, but Voldemort took no notice.

"And then, not even a year ago, when I had almost abandoned hope, it happened at last… a servant returned to me. Wormtail here, who had faked his own death to escape justice, was finally discovered and sent to Azkaban, where he later escaped and decided to return to his master. He sought me in the country where it had long been rumored I was hiding… helped, of course, by the rats he met along the way. Wormtail has a curious affinity with rats, do you not, Wormtail? His filthy little friends told him there was a place, deep in an Albanian forest, that they avoided, where small animals like themselves had met their deaths by a dark shadow that possessed them…

"But his journey back to me was not smooth, was it, Wormtail? For, hungry one night, on the edge of the very forest where he had hoped to find me, he foolishly stopped at an inn for some food… and who should he meet there, but one Bertha Jorkins, a witch from the Ministry of Magic.

"Now see the way that fate favors Lord Voldemort. This might have been the end of Wormtail, and of my last hope for regeneration. But Wormtail - displaying a presence of mind I would never have expected from him – convinced Bertha Jorkins to accompany him on a nighttime stroll. He overpowered her… he brought her to me. And Bertha Jorkins, who might have ruined all, proved instead to be a gift beyond my wildest dreams… for - with a little persuasion - she became a veritable mine of information.

"She told me that the Triwizard Tournament would be played at Hogwarts this year. She told me that she knew of a faithful Death Eater who would be only too willing to help me, if I could only contact him. She told me many things… but the means I used to break the Memory Charm upon her were powerful, and when I had extracted all useful information from her, her mind and body were both damaged beyond repair. She had now served her purpose. I could not possess her. I disposed of her."

Voldemort smiled his terrible smile, his red eyes blank and pitiless.

"Wormtail's body, of course, was ill adapted for possession, as he is on the run, and would attract far too much attention if noticed. However, he was the able-bodied servant I needed, and, poor wizard though he is, Wormtail was able to follow the instructions I gave him, which would return me to a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would be able to inhabit while awaiting the essential ingredients for true rebirth… a spell or two of my own invention… a little help from my dear Nagini," Voldemort's red eyes fell upon the continually circling snake, "a potion concocted from unicorn blood, and the snake venom Nagini provided… I was soon returned to an almost human form, and strong enough to travel.

"There was no hope of stealing the Philosopher's Stone anymore, for I knew that Dumbledore would have seen to it that it was destroyed. But I was willing to embrace mortal life again, before chasing immortality. I set my sights lower… I would settle for my old body back again, and my old strength.

"I knew that to achieve this - it is an old piece of Dark Magic, the potion that revived me tonight - I would need three powerful ingredients. Well, one of them was already at hand, was it not, Wormtail? Flesh given by a servant…

"My father's bone, naturally, meant that we would have to come here, where he was buried. But the blood of a foe… Wormtail would have had me use any wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard who had hated me… as so many of them still do. But I knew the one I must use, if I was to rise again, more powerful than I had been when I had fallen. I wanted Harry Potter's blood. I wanted the blood of the one who had stripped me of power thirteen years ago…

"But how to get at Harry Potter? For he has disappeared from the wizarding world and despite all the searching, has not been found. Therefore, I decided to settle for someone who is also a great nuisance, especially after how he had thwarted my plans with the Stone… However, there was some difficulty getting him, for during the school term he is at Hogwarts, and during the holidays he is at his guardian's home, which has many protections on it.

"Then, of course, there was the Quidditch World Cup… I thought his protection might be weaker there, away from his relations and Dumbledore, but I was not yet strong enough to attempt kidnap in the midst of a horde of Ministry wizards. And then, the boy would return to Hogwarts, where he is under the crooked nose of that Muggle-loving fool from morning until night. So how could I take him?

"Why… by using Bertha Jorkins's information, of course. Use my one faithful Death Eater, stationed at Hogwarts, to ensure that the boy's name was entered into the Goblet of Fire. Use my Death Eater to ensure that the boy won the tournament - that he touched the Triwizard Cup first - the cup which my Death Eater had turned into a Portkey, which would bring him here, beyond the reach of Dumbledore's help and protection, and into my waiting arms. And here he is… James Lydell-Black, plus the added bonus of his two friends…"

Voldemort regarded the trio silently for a moment, then ordered Wormtail to untie them and return their wands so that they could battle and Voldemort would prove that he was stronger. As soon as the trio were free and their gags removed, Mari, without a trace of fear in her expression, moved so that she was standing in front of Riddle and snapped, "You are a pathetic loser, _Moldydork_. That name suits you, since you are moldy after going without a proper body for almost fourteen years, and you're a dork because a baby defeated you and the three of us as first-years were able to keep you from getting the Philosopher's Stone."

"How dare you!" shrieked Voldemort angrily. "A-" He burst into a paroxysm of coughing, while the Death Eaters hovered between concern over their master and anger over what Mari had said. One of them decided to target Mari, but before he could do so, Voldemort had recovered and in a normal tone of voice ordered the Death Eaters to stay out of this, that he would deal with matters.

"Oh, shut up," snapped Kyle. "You weren't able to defeat us when we were first years, so you're not going to be able to do so now. In fact, someday you're going to be the one to die, and you'll end up in Hell where I'm sure Satan is waiting eagerly for you so he can carry out all the delightful punishments he has planned for you."

James blinked in surprise, for Kyle had never been the type to talk like this. For that matter, he had never really believed in Heaven _or_ Hell, though he did agree that there was some sort of afterlife when people died.

Voldemort opened his mouth, then shut it again. After a moment, wherein he breathed rather heavily, he pointed his wand at Mari, then at Kyle. "Well, I have a proposition for you, James Lydell. I'll kill you of course, but I'll be kind enough to let one of your friends live. You get to decide which one will die and which one will live."

"I'm not doing that!" exclaimed James, who was now too angry to feel any fear. "Why don't you just kill me now, _Moldydork_?"

"After you watch your friends suffer and die under my hand," hissed Voldemort in reply. He pointed his wand at Mari and said, "Crucio."

Both Kyle and James pushed Mari out of the way, with the end result that the two boys collided into other and fell to the ground, while the Cruciatus Curse passed harmlessly above them and hit a gravestone, shattering it. Voldemort made a shriek of frustration that was cut off by a cough. When he recovered and the trio had gotten to their feet, he pointed his wand at Kyle and snapped, "Avada Kedavra!" At the exact same moment, Mari pushed Kyle out of the way, while James, who was standing behind Kyle, shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

(Please refer to chapter 33 of _Goblet of Fire_, since the scene where the two wands have the Prior Incantatem effect is basically the same.)

Mari acted quickly while the shades of those that Voldemort had killed gathered around James, protecting him from Riddle. She quickly removed the Full-Body Bind from Hiroshi, who was now in a mix of shock over everything had occured and grief over the fact that Cedric was dead. Cedric's shade drifted over to Hiroshi at that point and said very firmly, "This is in no way your fault, Hiroshi. I would have liked to die peacefully of old age, but if that couldn't happen, then I wanted to die saving a friend or fighting for a noble cause. As the latter happened, I am satisfied. Hiroshi, I am glad that you were my friend. Now please make sure my body doesn't remain here, and tell my parents that I love them."

Hiroshi recovered enough to say, "I will, Cedric. You are the best friend ever and I will miss you greatly." He bent down and grasped the arm of Cedric's body. Mari then took his other hand and then grabbed Kyle's arm with her free hand. Kyle in turn took James's hand when James broke the connection. A second later, he then Summoned the Triwizard Cup and grasped a handle. While the shades slowly started fading, Death Eaters raised their wands and began casting spells, and Voldemort roared in anger, the group was jerked away.

Author's Note: Sorry that it took so long to update. I temporarily lost interest in this fic as I was hit with an idea for a new fic, which would be a crossover between Harry Potter and the Elemental Master series by Mercedes lackey. The inspiration came when I was rereading _The Serpent's Shadow_ and came across a line where one of the characters was thinking that if there were Ministries for everything else, then there ought to be a Ministry of Magic. That made me think of the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter, which in turn gave me an idea for the crossover. I tried starting it, but couldn't figure out how I want it to go, so I gave up on it for the time being and focused on updating this fic. If anyone is interested in my writing the crossover fic, let me know and I will start it once I work out the kinks and finish this fic and move on to James's fifth year at Hogwarts. Also, please vote as to whether you want James to tell Dumbledore the truth about his identity. Naturally, Dumbledore will keep the secret until James says otherwise.


	21. Chapter 21

James felt himself slam flat into the ground; his face was pressed into grass; the smell of it filled his nostrils. He had closed his eyes while the Portkey transported him, and he kept them closed now. He did not move. All the breath seemed to have been knocked out of him; his head was swimming so badly he felt as though the ground beneath him were swaying like the deck of a ship. To hold himself steady, he tightened his hold on the two things he was still clutching: the smooth, cold handle of the Triwizard Cup and Kyle's hand. He felt as though he would slide away into the blackness gathering at the edges of his brain if he let go of either of them. Shock and exhaustion kept him on the ground, breathing in the smell of the grass, waiting… waiting for someone to do something… something to happen… and all the while, his scar burned dully on his arm…

Mari scrambled to her feet and then turned to Hiroshi, only to find him bent over Cedric's body and silently weeping over the death of his best Hogwarts friend. She elected to let him mourn in peace and turned to Kyle and James. Before she could do anything, however, she heard the frantic voice of Minister Kishi shout, "You blasted idiot, something's happened! Now get out of my way before I hex you!"

"Minister, you cannot speak that way to Minister Fudge," said Secretary Fujiwara in an admonishing tone.

"I don't care, it's not your cousin and her best friend that disappeared because their other best friend summoned them," snapped Minister Kishi. "Now go get the Satous and Diggorys at once."

Mari bent down and managed to pry Kyle out of James's grip. At this point, Minister Kishi, Sirius, Remus, Professor Dumbledore, Headmistress Watoma, Mr. and Mrs. Hirashi, Stella, and Stuart came to a halt in front of them. Mrs. Hirashi made an exclamation in Japanese, her eyes wide with shock

"What's going on here?" blustered Cornelius Fudge, joining the group, Professor Moody plodding along right behind him.

James rolled over and opened his eyes. Looking up in the frantic eyes of Sirius, he said in a voice that sounded dim and far away to him, "He's back. Voldemort."

All the adults, except for Fudge and Moody, exchanged extremely worried looks, but didn't seem to be particularly shocked by the news. Stuart cursed, which the others ignored, while Stella groaned and muttered, "Why do all my bad feelings end up coming true?"

"Is he joking?" asked Minister Fudge, a frown on his face. Everyone ignored the question as Minister Kishi bent down to examine Cedric.

"What happened to him?" she asked, upon realizing that the teen was dead.

"He's dead!" wailed Hiroshi. He then continued in Japanese, with James only catching Cedric's and Voldemort's names.

At this juncture, the Satous and Diggorys arrived on the scene. "Who's dead?" asked Mrs. Diggory, who paled and let out a small scream when she saw the body of her son.

Minister Kishi straightened and began speaking rapidly in Japanese to the Satous, no doubt explaining what had occured, while Professor Dumbledore did the same for the Diggorys. Other people that had gathered around them began spreading the news that Cedric was dead.

Sirius managed to pry Cedric out of Harry's grip and helped his godson up. "We'll sort everything out, James," Sirius said urgently. "Just stay here until we can get you to the Hospital Wing."

"The same goes for you, Kyle," said Remus. He and Sirius then turned to help Dumbledore.

Mari made to move next to her friends, but Mrs. Hirashi grabbed her. "You are not moving from my or Minister Kishi's side. Or out of Dumbledore's view. After you just saw that Dark Lord return, I don't want you in any more danger."

Professor Moody made his way over to where Kyle was supporting James. "It's all right, son, I've got you… come on… hospital wing…"

"Sirius said stay," said James thickly, the pounding in his scar making him feel as though he was about to throw up; his vision was blurring worse than ever.

"Both of you need to lie down… Come on now…" Moody grasped James's free arm and pulled the two boys through the crowd.

Perhaps three minutes later, Mari, who had been listening to the adults' conversation, realized that her friends weren't there. "Aunt Yuki, Kyle and James have gone!"

Mrs. Hirashi looked at her, startled, then looked around. "But they were told to stay here!" She quickly told the others.

Headmistress Watoma, looking rather grim, said, "I think Professor Moody took them, since he's not here either."

At that, Professor Dumbledore looked alarmed. "Professor Moody has them?" he demanded. "Then that means...Minerva, Filius, and Severus, please come with me. Sirius and Remus, you may come as well. Mrs. Hirashi, would you also mind coming with me?"

"I will be most willing," said Mrs. Hirashi in a dark voice. "Mariko, stay here."

"I won't," said Mari stubbornly. "James and Kyle are my best friends and I want to find out what happened to them."

Mrs. Hirashi opened her mouth to protest, but Minister Kishi cut her off. "Just let her come, Yuki. And I would like to join you, Professor Dumbledore. Secretary Fujiwara and Hirashi-san, please handle things with Minister Fudge for me."

The group set off for the castle, each and every one of them looking grim, or in Dumbledore's case, furious.

Meanwhile, James and Kyle were stunned to hear that Moody was behind it all. While they were a bit suspicious about him based on what Minister Kishi had told them, they still hadn't expected that Moody was the one that put James's name in the Goblet or arranged things so that he would get through all the tasks.

Moody had just opened his mouth to cast a spell at James and Kyle was diving in front of his friend in order to shield him from the spell, when - "Stupefy!" There was a blinding flash of red light, and with a great splintering and crashing, the door of Moody's office was blasted apart – Moody was thrown backward onto the office floor.

James, still staring at the place where Moody's face had been, saw Mari, Sirius, Remus, Albus Dumbledore, Professors Snape, Flitwick, and McGonagall, Minister Kishi, and Mrs. Hirashi looking back at him out of the Foe-Glass. He looked around and saw the nine of them standing in the doorway, Dumbledore in front, his wand outstretched.

At that moment, James fully understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared down at the unconscious form of Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than James could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat.

He stepped into the office, placed a foot underneath Moody's unconscious body, and kicked him over onto his back, so that his face was visible. Snape followed him, looking into the Foe-Glass, where his own face was still visible, glaring into the room. Sirius went straight to James.

"Come along, James," he whispered, an anguished expression on his face. "Come along… hospital wing…"

"No," said Dumbledore sharply.

Professor McGonagll looked shocked. "Dumbledore, he ought to - look at him - he's been through enough tonight -"

"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand," said Dumbledore curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why."

"Moody," James said. He was still in a state of complete disbelief. "How can it have been Moody?"

"This is not Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore quietly. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment Mari alerted us to you and Mr. Melling being gone, I knew - and I followed."

Dumbledore bent down over Moody's limp form and put a hand inside his robes. He pulled out Moody's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. Then he turned to Professor Snape and Mrs. Hirashi. "Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess. Mrs. Hirashi, I believe the house-elf called Winky works for your family? Could you please summon her?"

If either Snape or Mrs. Hirashi found these instructions peculiar, they hid their confusion. Both turned at once and left the office. Dumbledore walked over to the trunk with seven locks, fitted the first key in the lock, and opened it. It contained a mass of spell-books. Dumbledore closed the trunk, placed a second key in the second lock, and opened the trunk again. The spellbooks had vanished; this time it contained an assortment of broken Sneako-scopes, some parchment and quills, and what looked like a silvery Invisibility Cloak. Harry watched, astounded, as Dumbledore placed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth keys in their respective locks, reopening the trunk each time, and revealing different contents each time. Then he placed the seventh key in the lock, threw open the lid, and James let out a cry of amazement.

He was looking down into a kind of pit, an underground room, and lying on the floor some ten feet below, apparently fast asleep, thin and starved in appearance, was the real Mad-Eye Moody. His wooden leg was gone, the socket that should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing. James stared, thunderstruck, between the sleeping Moody in the trunk and the unconscious Moody lying on the floor of the office.

Dumbledore climbed into the trunk, lowered himself, and fell lightly onto the floor beside the sleeping Moody. He bent over him.

"Stunned - controlled by the Imperius Curse - very weak," he said. "Of course, they would have needed to keep him alive. Filius, throw down the imposter's cloak - he's freezing. Madam Pomfrey will need to see him, but he seems in no immediate danger."

Flitwick did as he was told; Dumbledore covered Moody in the cloak, tucked it around him, and clambered out of the trunk again.

Minister Kishi's eyes widened slightly. "I had a bad feeling about Moody when I met him, but I had not quite expected this. I suppose the imposter was using a Transformation Potion?"

Professor Dumbledore picked up the hip flask that stood upon the desk, unscrewed it, and turned it over. A thick glutinous liquid splattered onto the office floor. "If you mean a potion that allows one to become someone else for an hour at a time, then yes, Minister Kishi. In English it is called the Polyjuice Potion." He turned to James and Kyle and continued, "You see the simplicity of it, and the brilliance. For Moody never does drink except from his hip flask, he's well known for imposter needed, of course, to keep the real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the potion. You see his hair…" Dumbledore looked down on the Moody in the trunk. "The imposter has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven? But I think, in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequendy as he should have done… on the hour… every hour… We shall see."

Dumbledore pulled out the chair at the desk and sat down upon it, his eyes fixed upon the unconscious Moody on the floor. James stared at him too. Minutes passed in silence…

Then, before Harry's very eyes, the face of the man on the floor began to change. The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole and started to shrink. The long mane of grizzled gray hair was withdrawing into the scalp and turning the color of straw. Suddenly, with a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg regrew in its place; next moment, the magical eyeball had popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction.

James saw a man lying before him, pale-skinned, slightly freckled, with a mop of fair hair. Mrs. Hirashi and Snape entered the room at that point, Winky right behind them.

"Crouch!" Snape said, stopping dead in the doorway. "Barty Crouch!"

Winky peered around Mrs. Hirashi's legs. Her mouth opened wide and she let out a piercing shriek.

"Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?" She flung herself forward onto the young man's chest. "You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!"

"He is simply Stunned, Winky," said Dumbledore. "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the potion?"

Snape handed Dumbledore a small glass bottle of completely clear liquid: the Veritserum he had shown James during a weekly Potions session when the latter had asked about Truth Potions. Dumbledore got up, bent over the man on the floor, and pulled him into a asitting position against the wall beneath the Foe-Glass, in which the reflections of Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall were still glaring down upon them all. Winky remained on her knees, trembling, her hands over her face. Dumbledore forced the mans mouth open and poured three drops inside it. Then he pointed his wand at the mans chest and said, "Ennervate."

Crouch's son opened his eyes. His face was slack, his gaze unfocused.

Dumbledore knelt before him, so that their faces were level.

"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

The man's eyelids flickered.

"Yes," he muttered.

(Please refer to chapter 35 of _Goblet of Fire_, since the interrogation under Veritaserum is the same, except for the part where Crouch Sr, escaped. During that part, when Crouch Jr. joined the search, he Stunned Snape, then killed his father and turned him into a bone and hid it. Once Dumbledore decided to end the search, Crouch Jr. proceeded to bury the bone like he did in the books.)

Dumbledore stood up. He stared down at Barty Crouch for a moment with disgust on his face. Then he raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, ropes that twisted themselves around Barty Crouch, binding him tightly. He turned to Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take James upstairs?"

"Of course," said Professor McGonagall. She looked slightly nauseous, as though she had just watched someone being sick. However, when she drew out her wand and pointed it at Barty Crouch, her hand was quite steady.

"Severus" - Dumbledore turned to Snape - "please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the hospital wing. Then go down into the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the hospital wing in half an hour's time if he needs me."

Snape nodded silently and swept out of the room. Everyone else then went to Dumbledore's office, where Mari and Kyle explained everything that had happened in the graveyard, as James was too shaken to do so. Both were careful not to say anything that would reveal James to be really Harry Potter. The only time James spoke was when Dumbledore revealed that Fawkes was the one that had donated the feathers that made up the core of James and Voldemort's wands.

When the whole tale was over, the trio was sent to spend the night in the Hospital Wing.

Author's Note: Sorry it took awhile to update. Real life interfered, and I was busy doing other things. There's going to be one more chapter after this, and then I'm off to start the sequel, _Unity and the Order of the Phoenix_. If you have any ideas for it, please PM me, because all that I know for certain will happen is the Fudge will be an idiot as usual, Umbridge will appear at Hogwarts (though whether it's as the DADA teacher or just a teacher's assistant is still debatable), and Theo Nott will likely have to run away from home, since his father is a Death Eater.


	22. Chapter 22

In the Hospital Wing, all of Unity was waiting for the trio, worried or frantic looks on their faces. Even the Japanese members, who didn't show great displays of emotion, and Luna, who usually looked serene and calm except when expressing delight or laughter, looked worried.

They all started speaking at once until Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore intervened. "Your friends are physically well, but they have just undergone a rather frightening experience and need time to rest and recover from the shock," said Dumbledore kindly.

"So I want everyone that's not family to them to please leave," said Madam Pomfrey firmly.

"But we want to know what-" protested Neville.

"If you will conduct me to a private place, I will explain everything that they have told me," interrupted Minister Kishi. "It is a shock, but simply put, the Dark Lord has returned."

"You-Know-Who's back?" exclaimed Elspeth, face pale. "But how?"

"I will explain once we are somewhere private," said Minister Kishi in a gentle but firm voice.

Unity and Minister Kishi left the Hospital Wing, presumably to the Room of Requirement. Sirius helped James into a bed and handed him a bar of chocolate. He automatically took a bite, but couldn't bring himself to swallow and ended up spitting it out in a nearby bedpan.

"It's my fault that Cedric's dead and that my friends and Hiroshi were there for Voldemort's rebirth," James muttered.

"It is not!" exclaimed Hiroshi from the next bed. "You did not suggest that we tie for the Quartet Quest. And your friends made you promise to summon them if you were in great danger. It is my fault Cedric is dead! He pushed me out of the way and took the Killing Curse that was aimed at me. And I would be dead too if Mariko had not put me under the Full-Body Bind and distracted V-V-Vol-Voldemort and that other person!" He burst into tears again.

"Cedric's death is not your fault, brother," said Keiko, who had elected not to go with the rest of Unity and instead decided to stay by her brother's side. "It is the fault of that Dark Lord."

"So please do not blame yourself, my son," said Mr. Satou. "You would have pushed Cedric out of the way if the Dark Lord had been aiming for him, correct? Then if he had felt that your death was his fault, you would not want him to blame himself for it. So do not the same yourself."

"I suppose," said Hiroshi, wiping his eyes. "But it does not make things any better. Cedric and Ichirou are my best friends, and now I have lost one of them."

At this juncture, Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office and made the trio and Hiroshi take some Dreamless Sleep Potion. James looked around to see Mrs. Weasley fussing over Kyle, as she had been allowed to stay by his side since he had no family at Hogwarts. Mrs. Hirashi tucked the covers snugly around Mari, and then began relating the night's events to Ry, Sakura, Ichirou, and Keiko in a low voice, since they were dying to know what happened but hadn't gone with Unity to find out. At this point, James felt drowsy, and the last thing he saw was a hazy Sirius and Remus pulling the bedcovers around him as his exhaustion carried him off to sleep.

* * *

James woke up, so warm, so very sleepy, that he didn't open his eyes, wanting to drop off again. The room was still dimly lit; he was sure it was still nighttime and had a feeling that he couldn't have been asleep very long.

Then he heard whispering around him.

"They'll wake them if they don't shut up!"

"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?"

James opened his eyes blearily. Someone had removed his glasses. He could see the fuzzy outlines of Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill close by. Mrs. Weasley was on her feet.

"That's Fudge's voice," she whispered. "And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"

Now James could hear them too: people shouting and running toward the hospital wing.

"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva -" Cornelius Fudge was saying loudly.

"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" yelled Professor McGonagall. "When Dumbledore finds out -"

James heard the hospital doors burst open. Unnoticed by any of the people around his bed, all of who were staring at the door as Bill pulled back the screens, James sat up and put his glasses back on.

Fudge came striding up the ward. Professors McGonagall and Snape were at his heels.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded of Mrs. Weasley.

"He's not here," said Mrs. Weasley angrily. "This is a hospital wing. Minister, don't you think you'd do better to -"

But the door opened, and Dumbledore came sweeping up the ward.

"What has happened?" said Dumbledore sharply, looking from Fudge to Professor McGonagall. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you - I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch -"

"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked. "The Minister has seen to that!"

James had never seen Professor McGonagall lose control like this. There were angry blotches of color in her cheeks, and her hands were balled into fists; she was trembling with fury.

"When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events," said Snape, in a low voice; he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. "He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch -"

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" McGonagall fumed. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but -"

"My dear woman!" roared Fudge, who likewise looked angrier than James had ever seen him, "as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -"

But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned Fudge's. "The moment that - that thing entered the room," she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, "it swooped down on Crouch and - and -"

James felt a chill in his stomach as Professor McGonagall struggled to find words to describe what had happened. He did not need her to finish her sentence. He knew what the dementor must have done. It had administered its fatal kiss to Barty Crouch. It had sucked his soul out through his mouth. He was worse than dead.

"By all accounts, he is no loss!" blustered Fudge. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths'."

"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."

"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" blustered Fudge. "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"

"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."

Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy weight into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore.

"You-Know-Who… returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore…"

"As Minerva and Severus have doubtless told you," said Dumbledore, "we heard Barty Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort - learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins - went to free him from his father and used him to capture James. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return."

"See here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, and James was astonished to see a slight smile dawning on his face, "you - you can't seriously believe that You-Know-Who - back? Come now, come now… certainly, Crouch may have believed himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who's orders - but to take the word of a lunatic like that, Dumbledore…"

"When James touched the Triwizard Cup tonight, he was transported straight to Voldemort," said Dumbledore steadily. "He then summoned his friends, as they had made him promise to do so if he was in great danger, and they along with Hiroshi Satou witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain it all to you if you will step up to my office."

The door opened again and in strode Minister Kishi, Secretary Fujiwara, and Mr. Hirashi. "Minister Fudge, what have you done?" demanded Minister Kishi, her tone filled with suppressed rage and her eyes flashing. "Secretary Fujiwara notified me about you bringing along a dementor when you went to speak with Crouch."

Fudge repeated, "As Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -"

"He had no wand on him and Professor McGonagall was guarding him!" interrupted Minister Kishi angrily. "So he would have been of no danger to you!"

Mr. Hirashi murmured something in Japanese. With forced politeness, Minister Kishi said in a calmer tone, "Forgive me if I was rude, Minister Fudge. However, it is very upsetting. The dementor did not do anything to Crouch, did it?"

"It most certainly did something!" exclaimed McGonagall angrily. "The moment that thing entered the room it swooped down on Crouch and - and -"

"Do not tell me that it sucked out his soul!" snapped Minister Kishi, losing whatever hold she had on her temper. "Now he is no fit state to give evidence! There is a reason why Japan does not have anything to do with dementors! And that is precisely why all those that are a danger to wizarding society get stripped of their magic and sent to live in the Muggle world!"

Secretary Fujiwara whispered something, but Minister Kishi ignored her. "Well, the more important matter is that the British Dark Lord has returned and needs to be dealt with."

"You can't believe that You-Know-Who is back as well, Minister Kishi?" demanded Fudge incredulously.

"I have been expecting something like this since James Lydell-Black was entered in the Quartet Quest! One of the Seers in the Japanese Ministry made a prophecy about how a great evil would return to Britain and that it would be up to the most famous boy in recent history and his friends to help stop it! All other prophecies he made have come true, so I have no doubt this one will as well. Also, as being part kitsune, I have the ability to sense when someone is lying, so obviously nobody is lying about this Dark Lord returning!"

"Kitsune?" asked Fudge blankly. "What's a kitsune?"

"A magical being in Japan and China who can take fox or human form," replied Secretary Fujiwara. "Though kitsunes are called something else in Chinese."

"That's not important," snapped Minister Kishi. "What is important is that Lord Voldy-whatever has returned and something has to be done about it!"

"But that's impossible!" sputtered Fudge. "Minister Kishi, you can't just expect me to believe the account of three fifteen-year olds."

"Look, we saw Voldemort come back!" Kyle shouted, surprising James, who hadn't realized his friend was also awake. Kyle tried to get out of bed, but Mrs. Weasley forced him back. "We saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy -"

Snape made a sudden movement, but as James looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge.

"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge, visibly affronted. "A very old family - donations to excellent causes -"

"Macnair was there too!" exclaimed Mari, sitting up on her bed and also surprising James again.

"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!"

James sat up also and continued, "Avery - Nott - Crabbe - Goyle -"

"You three are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" said Fudge angrily. "You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heaven's sake, Dumbledore - are you sure that you should even be listening to these wild tales? The girl isn't exactly the most reliable of persons, what with her possibly two-timing her boyfriend, and I wouldn't fully-"

"You fool!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!"

"I see no evidence to the contrary!" shouted Fudge, now matching her anger, his face purpling. "It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always thought of Fudge as a kindly figure, a little blustering, a little pompous, but essentially good-natured. But now a short, angry wizard stood before him, refusing, point-blank, to accept the prospect of disruption in his comfortable and ordered world - to believe that Voldemort could have risen.

"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. "If you accept that fact straightaway Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors -"

"Preposterous!" shouted Fudge again. "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!"

"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!" said Dumbledore. "They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!"

Fudge was opening and closing his mouth as though no words could express his outrage.

"The second step you must take - and at once," Dumbledore pressed on, "is to send envoys to the giants."

"Envoys to the giants?" Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. "What madness is this?"

"Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late," said Dumbledore, "or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!"

"You - you cannot be serious!" Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. "If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants - people hate them, Dumbledore - end of my career -"

"You are blinded," said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, "by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any - and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now- take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act - and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"

"Insane," whispered Fudge, still backing away. "Mad…"

And then there was silence. Madam Pomfrey was standing frozen at the foot of James's bed, her hands over her mouth. Sirius was still standing over James, his hand on his godson's shoulder to prevent him from rising. Everyone else in the room was staring at Fudge.

"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, "we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I - I shall act as I see fit."

Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat; it sounded like a mere statement, but Fudge bristled as though Dumbledore were advancing upon him with a wand.

"Now, see here, Dumbledore," he said, waving a threatening finger. "I've given you free rein, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire or teach werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me -"

"The only one against whom I intend to work," said Dumbledore, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."

It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of a plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be…"

Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.

"There," said Snape harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."

Fudge stepped back from Snape too. He was shaking his head. He did not seem to have taken in a word Snape had said. He stared, apparently repelled by the ugly mark on Snape's arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what you and your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."

"Excuse me," said Minister Kishi in a cold voice. "You are making a grave mistake in refusing to believe that this Voldemort is back, Minister Fudge. Japan may not be as liberal as Britain in some respects, but we at least have the sense not to have dealings with dementors and make sure that everyone who is not full human is still treated decently and prevent evil witches and wizards from gaining power. If you insist on this path, then I will have no choice but to advise the Japanese Ministry to limit our relationship with the British Ministry."

"Fine then," snapped Fudge. "You may do as you wish, Minister Kishi. Now, I must be going."

He had almost reached the door when he paused. He turned around, strode back down the dormitory, and stopped between Hiroshi's and James's beds.

"Both of your winnings," he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto the bedside table. "One thousand Galleons. There should have been a presentation ceremony, but under the circumstances…"

He crammed his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment he had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around the four beds.

"There is work to be done," he said. "Molly… am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?"

"Of course you can," said Mrs. Weasley. She was white to the lips, but she looked resolute. "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."

"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius."

"I'll go to Dad," said Bill, standing up. "I'll go now."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry -"

"Leave it to me," said Bill. He kissed his mother on the cheek, pulled on his cloak, and strode quickly from the room.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore, turning to Professor McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also - if she will consent to come – Madame Maxime."

Professor McGonagall nodded and left without a word. Madam Pomfrey was also asked to leave, which she did so. When she was gone, Remus was asked to contact the "old crowd".

"Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready… if you are prepared…"

"I am," said Snape.

He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely. James understood in a flash what Snape was going to do and burst out, "Professor Snape, remember what you promised me! You know, with Riddle's return. Please make sure you do it."

There was a flicker of sorrow in Snape's eyes before he assumed an unreadable expression and said shortly, "I will, Mr. Lydell."

"Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Remus.

Dumbledore then turned to James, but Sirius asked the question first. "What promise are you talking about that Sniv-I mean Snape, made?"

James glanced at Dumbledore, then responded, "I really can't answer that. It's a matter between Professor Snape and myself. And Mari and Kyle, since I tell them everything."

"And we're not telling you anything," added Mari. "The last thing we'll do is reveal something James had us keep secret."

The adults decided not to pursue the matter. Instead, Dumbledore turned to Minister Kishi, who instantly said, "There is no need to ask me, Professor Dumbledore. I am on your side, of course, and will do everything in my power to aid you. However, I cannot get Japan fully involved in a war that does not affect us at all. But I will notify the rest of wizarding Japan of Voldemort's return and ask them to be on their guard. Secretary Fujiwara and I must return to Japan now and plan what we are going to do."

She turned to Sirius and kissed him. "I will see you later, Sirius. I love you."

"I love you too, Reiko," replied Sirius.

Minister Kishi managed a tiny smile and then looked at James. "I am sorry that you had to go through all this, but we will all help you." She turned to Mari and Kyle and hugged her cousin and patted him on the shoulder. "Be there for James and look out for each other, dears. And please tell the rest of Unity to always live up to the group name."

With that, she and Secretary Fujiwara also left. Mr. and Mrs. Hirashi exchanged looks and nodded. Mr. Hirashi turned to Dumbledore and declared, "We support you also. If there is anything we can do to help you in the war against the Dark Lord, we will do so."

"Thank you," said Dumbledore. "I will speak with you further tomorrow about this, Mr. and Mrs. Hirashi." He left the Hospital Wing and the trio was made to drink some more Dreamless Sleep Potion and return to bed.

* * *

The next morning, the trio and Hiroshi explained everything that had happened to the Diggorys. They did not blame the four for what had happened; on the contrary, both thanked them for returning Cedric's body to them. Mr. Diggory sobbed through most of the interview. Mrs. Diggory's grief seemed to be beyond tears.

When the interview was over, James and Hiroshi tried to give the Diggorys the winnings from the Quartet Quest, but neither would take it. Once they left, Hiroshi said, "Well, I do not want half the money. James, you take it and donate it or something."

James nodded in understanding. That evening, the trio was allowed to return to their respective common rooms. The next day, all of Unity met. None of them outright said anything about what had happened in the graveyard, other than Theo asking, "My father was there, wasn't he?" and all of them swearing to stand by James and helping him no matter what. Keiko also revealed that Rita Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus, having caught the reporter in beetle form on the windowsill that night in the Hospital Wing. In exchange for Keiko's silence, Skeeter had promised to keep her quill to herself for a year and not write anything. This in turn caused the group to decide to look into becoming Animagi themselves, since it could be useful in the war against Riddle, and they would do some research on it during the holidays.

Unity spent the rest of the time in the Room of Requirement, with Dobby and some of the Hogwarts house-elves bringing food at mealtimes, so that the group didn't have to go the Great Hall and face all the questions and stares from the other students that had no clear idea as to what had happened. They only left the Room for the Leaving Feast.

(Everything that occurred in the Leaving Feast is the same as in the book, except that anything referring to Harry is changed to the trio, so just refer to the last chapter of _Goblet of Fire_.)

Finally it was time to leave. Fleur stopped to say good-bye to James on her way to the Beauxbatons carriage. Stella and Krum had a passionate good-bye kiss and promised to write each other. She had also been invited to visit him in Bulgaria, but had to turn him down because she was starting an internship at St. Mungo's to become a Healer in two weeks and wanted to be around to support James.

During the train ride, Unity didn't talk much. James tried offering them the thousand Galleons, but none of them would take it. In the end, he sought out Fred and George and made them take the money as an 'investment' in their joke shop, insisting that Hiroshi and he had no need or desire for the money and threatening to hex them if they didn't take it. To make the twins feel better about taking the money, James added that they could give him and Hiroshi free merchandise for a year or something once their shop was up and running.

When the Hogwarts Express arrived, everyone grabbed their things and disembarked. Theo paled when he saw his father, who did not look happy at all. In fact, Mr. Nott looked angry, and when he spotted his son, he shot a look that promised dire consequences. Mandy took Theo's hand and whispered, "If anything happens, notify us via our notebooks, Theo."

"I will, Mandy," replied Theo. He turned and bent his head slightly to kiss her. When they broke apart, he continued, "I will not let my father dictate my life. He tried after my mother died, and would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Unity, which reminded me of everything Mother had instilled in me."

Mandy managed a tiny smile. "Be careful, though. Your father's not going to like the fact that you're dating me, when both my parents are Muggleborn."

"Well, he's not stopping me," said Theo firmly. He kissed her again and then with a determined expression walked over to his father.

James looked concernedly after his friend, hoping that things would turn out well for Theo, before letting Sirius take him and his siblings home.

Author's Note: That is the conclusion of this fic. Thanks goes to reviewer call015, who suggested that Unity become Animagi. The first chapter of the sequel, _Unity and the Order of the Phoenix_, will be up soon.


End file.
